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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


TWO  HAPPY   YEAES   IN   CEYLON 


CEYLON. 

'  And  we  came  to  the  Isle  of  Flowers ; 

Tlieir  breath  met  us  out  on  the  seas, 
For  the  Spring  and  the  Middle  Summer 
Sat  each  on  the  lap  of  the  breeze : 

And  the  red  passion-tiower  to  the  cliffs, 
And  the  dark-blue  clematis,  clung ; 

And,  starred  with  myriad  blossoms. 
The  long  convolvulus  huni?." 


-e^ 


TWO     HAPPY     YEARS 
IN    CEYLON 


BY 


C.    F.    GORDON    CUMMIXG 

AUTHOR  OF 

'AT  HOME  IN  FIJI,"  "A  LADY'S  CRUISE  IN  A  FRENCH  JILAN-OF-WAR," 

•FIRE  FOUNTAINS  OF  THE  SANDWICH  ISLF5,' 

■  GRANITE  CRAGS  OF  CALIFORNIA,'  '  IN  THE  HIMALAYAS  AND  ON  INDIAN  PLAINS,' 

'  IN  THE  HEBRIDES,'  '  VIA  CORNWALL  TO  EGYPT,' 

'  WANDERINGS   IN  CHINA  ' 


ILLUSTRATED    BY    THE   AUTHOR 

IN    TWO    VOLUMES 
VOL.    IL 


NEW    YORK 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 

743    &    745    BROADWAY 

MDCCCXCII 


All  Rights  reserved 


^  est: 


CONTENTS  OF  THE  SECOND  VOLUME. 


riCAP. 

XIV.    RATNAPURA GEMS, 

XV.    BADULLA    AND    HAPUTALE, 

XVI.    SOME    PAGES    FROM    A    BROTHER'S    DIARY, 

XVII.    BATTICALOA, 

XVIII.    rOLLANARUWA, 

XIX.    TRINCOMALEE — SAAMI    ROCK, 

XX.    TRINCOMALEE    TO    GALLE,    . 

XXI.    SOUTHERN    COAST, 

XXII.    RETURN    TO    COLOMBO, 

XXIII.  NATIVE    POLICE,     . 

XXIV.  IN    THE    PLANTING    DISTRICTS, 
XXV.    ASCENT    OF    ADAm's    PEAK, 

XXVL    THE    TUG    OF    WAR THE   BATTLE  OF  DIVERSE  CREEDS 

IN    CEYLON, 
XXVII.    CHRISTIAN    WORK    IN    CEYLON, 
INDEX,     . 


1 
23 
56 

76 

107 
140 
16.3 
192 
227 
243 
272 
310 

346 

389 
431 


tl^  000-1 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  THE  SECOND  VOLUME. 


SHRINE    ON     THE    SUMMIT    OF     ADAM  S     PEAK,    AND    THE 

SHADOW  OP  THE  PEAK,      .  .  .  Ffontispiece. 

THE   GAL-VIHARA,    HOCK    TEMPLE   AT   POLLONARUA,      to  face  pCigC  106 

THE    WATA    DAGE    OR    ROUND    TREASURE-HOUSE,        .                ii  116 

THE    JETAWANARAMA    VIHARA    AND    KIRI    DAGOBA,  .                 ii  120 
THE    SAAMI    ROCK    AT    TRINCOMALEE  —  WORSHIP     AT 

SUNSET,      .                   .                   .                   .                   .11  142 

THE    LILY    SHORE    NEAR    TRINCOMALEE,        .                    .                 ii  160 

DOUBLE    CANOES,                   .                    .                    .                    .                 n  196 

COFFEE    FIELDS    ON    THE    SLOPES    OF    ALLEGALLA    PEAK,      ii  276 

Adam's  peak,  from  maskelya,               .              .            n  324 


TWO  HAPPY  YEAES  IN  CEYLON. 


CHAPTER    XIY. 

RATNAPUEA — GE]\IS. 

To  Ratnapiirn, — The  City  of  Rubies — Adam's  Peak  apparently  triple — 
Rest-house8 — Full  moon  festival — Fireflies  and  glow-worms — Visit 
to  the  gem-pits — Red  sapphires  and  blue  rubies — Other  gems. 

T'lE  Bishop  most  kindly  arranged  that  I  should  accompany 
him  and  his  daughter  on  one  of  his  extensive  rounds  of 
visitation,  riding  and  driving  circuitously  right  across  Ceylon  ; 
the  journey  from  Colombo  on  the  west  coast,  to  Batticaloa 
on  the  east  of  the  Isle,  to  occupy  a  month ;  thence  travel- 
lincc  inland  throuffh  the  district  of  Tamankadua  to  visit  the 
ruins  of  the  ancient  city  of  Pollanarua,  and  so  vid  Trincomalee 
to  Jaffna,  in  the  extreme  north  of  the  isle. 

We  accordingly  started  from  Colombo  in  the  beginning  of 
August,  following  the  course  of  the  beautiful  Kelaui  Eiver 
right  inland,  i.e.,  due  east,  halting  the  first  night  at  Hauwella, 
and  the  next  at  Avissawella,  all  the  time  rejoicing  in  lovely 
river  scenery,  embowered  in  most  luxuriant  and  infinitely 
varied  foliage — all  manner  of  palms,  feathery  bamboos  with 

VOL.  II.  A 


2  RATNAPURA — GEMS. 

bri^lit  velluw  steins,  and  line  trees,  witli  tlie  richest  under- 
rrrowtli  of  bananas,  ferns,  caladiuni,  and  innumeraUe  Ijeauti- 
ful  plants. 

One  fairy-like  detail  was  the  abundance  of  exquisitely 
delicate  climbing  ferns,  of  several  varieties,  which  in  some 
places  literally  mat  the  jungle  and  veil  tall  trees  with  their 
graceful  drapery.  One  of  these  is  identical  with  that  whose 
beauty  is  so  fully  recognised  by  the  Fijians  that  they  call 
it  the  Wa  Kalou,  "  the  fern  of  God,"  and  in  heathen  days 
wreathed  it  around  the  ridge-pole  of  their  temples. 

In  Ceylon  it  is  cut  wholesale,  and  laid  as  a  covering  over 
thatch,  its  long,  glossy,  black  stems,  like  coarse  horse-hair, 
actin"  as  rain-conductors.  Near  Avissawella  I  sketched  a 
very  peculiar  covered  bridge,  with  wooden  pillars  supporting 
a  hi"h  thatched  roof,  which  was  thus  protected. 

Our  route  lay  thence  south-east  to  Eatnapura,  skirting 
so  near  the  base  of  Adam's  Peak  that  we  obtained  a  suc- 
cession of  grand  views  of  it  towering  above  white  clouds 
beyond  the  nearer  wooded  ranges.  As  seen  from  this  side, 
a  f^roup  of  three  stately  peaks  tower  so  conspicuously  above 
all  their  blue  brethren,  that  they  seem  to  form  one  majestic 
triple  mountain,  and  one  of  these  peaks,  known  as  the  Baua 
Samanala,  or  "  nephew  "  of  the  Sacred  Mount,  appears  some- 
what hiirher  than  the  true  Sri  Pada  (the  mountain  of  the 
Holy  Foot).^  A  grand  view  of  this  group  is  obtained  from 
below  a  wooden  bridge  at  Eatnapura,  looking  up  the  Kalu- 
Ganga  or  Black  Eiver,  the  whole  framed  in  dark  trees, 
whose  stems  and  boughs  are  covered  with  parasitic  ferns. 
Picturesque  groups  of  natives  of  divers  nationality,  in  bright 
draperies  and  with  gaily-coloured  umbrellas  or  palm-leaf 
sunshades,  crossing  the  bridge,  add  life  to  the  scene.  All 
See  chapter  .\xv. 


A    SKETCHERS    UNCERTAINTIES.  3 

arouud  are  abrupt  rocks,  high  peaks,  and  hills  clothed  with 
forest.  A  small  fort  on  a  rocky  hillock  protected  the 
village  at  its  base  during  the  Kandyau  wars,  and  is  now  a 
pleasant  spot  from  which  to  watch  a  peaceful  sunset. 

(After  leaving  Eatnapura,  still  driving  in  a  south-easterly 
direction,  these  three  peaks,  now  more  distant,  tower  to  a 
greater  and  apparently  uniform  height,  with  fewer  inter- 
vening ranges.  For  the  benefit  of  future  sketchers,  I  may 
mention  that  they  are  seen  to  great  advantage  from  the 
57^  mile-post,  with  a  foreground  of  luxuriant  rice- fields 
surrounded  with  clumps  of  bamboo  and  all  manner  of 
palms.) 

Here,  as  in  all  mountainous  countries,  one's  enjoyment 
of  these  glimpses  of  the  upper  regions  is  perhaps  inten- 
sified by  their  uncertainty.  After  watching  a  glorious  sun- 
rise or  sunset,  when  these  lofty  summits  are  glorified  by 
the  flood  of  golden  light,  or  one  of  those  clear  mornings 
when  every  crag  and  ravine  can  be  plainly  discerned,  you 
turn  away  for  a  little  while,  and  when  you  look  again,  there 
is  nothing  whatever  to  suggest  the  existence  of  a  mountain 
— only  quiet  banks  of  fleecy  clouds.  So  he  who  would 
sketch  such  scenes  must  have  his  materials  ever  at  hand, 
and  take  for  his  motto,  "Eeady,  aye  ready." 

We  found  all  the  rest-houses  along  this  route  delight- 
fully situated,  and  commanding  such  views  that  there  was 
comparatively  little  temptation  to  leave  their  cool  shade 
during  the  hottest  hours  of  the  day.  As  I  write,  I  have 
before  me  sketches  of  the  Kalu-Ganga  from  the  rest-house 
at  Eatnapura,  of  the  Kelaui-Ganga  from  Hanwella  Fort, 
and  many  another  suggestion  of  cloud-reflecting  rivers  aiid 
dreamy  shores,  where  foliage  of  all  loveliest  forms  blend  in 
visions  of  delight. 


4  RATNAPURA — GEMS. 

These  rest-houses  for  the  accommodation  of  travellers 
are  kept  up  all  along  the  principal  roads,  under  the  occa- 
sional supervision  of  a  committee  of  the  gentlemen  in  charge 
of  the  district  roads.  They  are  each  in  charge  of  a  native, 
with  one  or  more  coolies  to  assist  him.  The  furnishings 
consist  of  table,  chairs,  crockery,  knives,  forks,  spoons,  and 
very  rude  bedsteads,  every  traveller  being  supposed  to  carry 
his  own  bedding  and  musquito-nets.  "Where  there  is  bed- 
ding, it  is  essential  to  turn  over  the  cushions  and  anything 
of  the  nature  of  a  mattress,  as  being  only  too  likely  to  con- 
ceal centipedes  and  scorpions — possibly  snakes.  The  rest- 
house  keeper  provides  food,  but  of  course  in  unfrequented 
districts  it  is  only  fair  to  let  him  have  notice  beforehand 
when  guests  may  be  expected.  Each  detail  is  charged 
according  to  a  fixed  tariff. 

On  the  principal  roads  some  of  these  houses  are  quite 
luxurious,  but  in  out-of-the-way  districts  we  halted  at  some 
which  were  very  much  the  reverse.  Some  of  the  road 
bungalows  yield  shelter  and  nothing  more ;  for  instance, 
that  at  Aralupitya,  on  the  Batticaloa  road,  which  consisted 
of  two  minute  rooms  of  sun-dried  mud  (whitewashed),  one 
on  each  side  of  the  open  space  which  acted  as  dining-room. 
Happily  the  projecting  thatch,  supported  on  rude  wooden 
posts,  afforded  some  shelter  from  the  blazing  sun.  Of 
course  such  houses  are  liable  to  be  inhabited  by  many 
creatures,  more  objectionable  than  even  swarms  of  flies, 
and  their  natural  spider  foes,  while  the  high-pitched  thatch 
is  invariably  the  home  of  a  menagerie  of  divers  reptiles, 
from  graceful  little  lizards  to  large  and  energetic  rat-snakes, 
which  are  the  true  rat-catchers  of  Ceylon.  The  verandahs 
of  even  the  best  rest-houses  are  invariably  haunted  by  pariah 
dogs  and  carrion  crows,  all  too  familiar,  and  all  seeking  what 


HIDEOUS    MASKS.  5 

they  ma}'  devour.  An  aiiibulam  is  a  rude  rest-house  for 
native  travellers,  raised  eight  or  ten  feet  on  a  foundation 
of  masonry,  so  as  to  be  above  the  miasma  which  always 
clings  to  the  ground. 

However,  I  need  not  have  digressed  into  the  matter  of 
rest-houses  while  speaking  of  Eatnapura,  where  we  were  so 
speedily  carried  off  to  the  charming  home  of  a  most  kind 
family  (Mrs.  Atherton).  A  very  pretty  Singhalese  prin- 
cess, Kumarahami  Eckmalagoda,  came  with  her  father, 
Eckneligoda,  to  luncheon,  and  to  invite  us  to  their  house 
for  the  evening  festivities,  namely,  the  Perehera,  or  proces- 
sion iu  honour  of  the  August  full  moon. 

These  continue  every  evening  fur  a  week.  I  have  already 
described  the  festival  as  observed  at  Kandy,^  when  the  trea- 
sures from  all  the  temples  are  carried  to  the  river,  and  at  an 
auspicious  moment  the  priests  cut  the  water  with  golden 
swords,  and  rapidly  empty  and  refill  their  temple  water- 
vessel  at  the  very  spot  thus  struck. 

At  Eatnapura  the  ceremony  was  very  weird.  First  there 
was  a  rather  pretty  dance  by  a  company  of  women.  These 
were  quickly  succeeded  by  a  very  horrible  apparition  of 
men  dressed  to  represent  demons  and  wearing  hideous 
masks  suggestive  of  divers  diseases.  It  is  odd  to  see  the 
conventional  expression  by  which  every  variety  of  bodily 
ailment  is  depicted — fever  by  a  red  face,  deafness  by  a 
vacant  look,  lameness  or  paralysis  by  twisted  faces,  idiotcy 
by  distorted  features,  projecting  eyes,  and  mouth  drawn  up. 

The  masquers  who  thus  personated  the  powers  of  evil 
each   carried   a   three-pronged   flaming   torch,    which   they 
brandished  while  dancing  a  wild  whirling  dance,  occasion- 
ally refreshing  the  torches  by  throwing  on  them  a  resinous 
^  See  chapter  x. 


6  RATNAPURA — GEMS. 

gum,  wliich  produced  a  burst  of  flame  and  smoke.  The 
whole  scene  was  truly  demoniacal. 

After  the  dance  we  adjourned  to  the  temple,  which  is  a 
Dewale  or  Saami  house  {i.e.,  a  house  of  Hindoo  gods),  with 
a  small  Buddhist  Vihara  alongside. 

I  think  that  no  priest  of  either  religion  was  present,  only 
temple  headmen,  of  whom  our  host,  Eckneligoda,  was  chief. 
First  from  the  ]hiddhist  temple  a  silver  relic-shrine  was 
brought  forth  with  great  pomp,  carried  by  the  temple  head- 
man, before  whose  footsteps  white  carpets  were  spread  and 
sprinkled  with  white  jessamine  blossom ;  above  the  relic 
was  borne  a  white  canopy  and  an  umbrella. 

Then  from  the  temple  of  Saman  Dewiyo,  alias  Eama,  a 
nmch-venerated  gilt  bow  and  three  arrows  were  solemnly 
brought  forth.  They  are  said  to  have  been  placed  here  by 
Eama  himself  after  he  had  therewith  slain  Eawana,  the 
demon  king  of  Lanka,  who  had  carried  off  the  beautiful 
Sita,  wife  of  Eama.  These  precious  relics  were  sprinkled 
with  the  holy  M-ater  preserved  since  the  previous  year,  and 
placed  in  the  mysterious  ark,  very  much  like  those  used 
in  Arkite  ceremonies  in  the  Himalayas.  It  is  really  a 
palanquin  with  rich  hangings,  about  4  feet  6  inches  by 
20  inches,  and  slung  on  a  central  pole.  The  four  bearers 
who  carried  it  were  each  robed  in  white,  and  had  their 
mouth  covered  with  a  strip  of  white  linen.  The  foremost 
couple  carried  a  large  silver  umbrella  of  honour.  A  strip 
of  white  carpet  was  also  spread  for  these  to  walk  on. 

Each  temple  possesses  one  of  these  sacred  arks,  which 
is  only  used  on  this  festival.  We  had  seen  a  party  of 
pilgrims  start  from  Colombo  some  time  previously,  in  order 
to  reach  Kataragam,  far  in  the  south-east,  in  time  for  this 
feast,  and  they  carried  their  deo  or  god  in  a  similar  ark. 


MOONLIGHT    PROCESSION.  7 

Tlie  precious  arrow  having  been  satisfactorily  started, 
the  bow  was  next  carried  downstairs  with  equal  solemnity, 
and  the  mystic  wand  of  the  Kapuwas  followed.  Then  the 
small  Juggernath  car  was  dragged  out — rather  a  pretty 
object,  only  12  feet  high,  with  a  crimson  body  on  very 
large  gilt  wheels,  and  forming  a  three-storied  square  pagoda, 
each  storey  having  a  white  roof  with  bells  at  the  corners. 

Amid  much  blowing  of  horns  and  shouting,  the  pro- 
cession then  formed  in  the  moonlight,  elephants  bearing 
headmen  who  carried  large  honorific  umbrellas  above  pre- 
cious objects,  devil-dancers  with  astounding  head-masks 
going  before  the  ark,  and  men  on  foot  carrying  more 
umbrellas,  one  of  which  overshadowed  another  precious 
arrow.  They  made  a  sun-wise  procession  round  the  temple, 
and  then,  as  it  was  Saturday  night  and  somewhat  late,  we 
had  to  come  away. 

The  drive  home  by  moonlight,  through  vegetation  of 
marvellous  loveliness,  was  a  dream  of  beauty,  and  the 
breeze  was  scented  with  a  general  perfume  of  orange  blos- 
som, citron,  and  lime,  blossoms  of  the  areka  palm,  temple 
flowers,  and  jessamine,  each  by  turn  sending  us  a  breath 
of  delicious  fragrance :  and  the  dark  foliage  overhead  and 
around  us  was  illuminated  by  the  dainty  green  lanterns 
of  myriads  of  luminous  beetles,  Hashing  to  and  fro  in 
mazy  dance,  like  glittering  sparks,  while  from  many  a 
roadside  bank  came  the  far  more  brilliant,  but  likewise 
intermittent,  light  wliich  tells  of  the  presence  of  u  glow- 
worm, a  fat  white  grub  about  two  inches  in  length.  As  in 
the  case  of  our  own  garden  centipede,  the  light  is  more 
attractive  than  the  light-bearer. 

When  captured,  the  light  of  the  Ceylonese  firefly  proves 
to  be  a  very  tiny  glimmer,  but  that  of  the  glow-worm  is  so 


8  IIATNAPURA — GEiMS. 

brilliant  as  to  enable  one  to  read  even  small  print  by  its 
light.  Scientific  men  have  experimented  as  to  whether 
this  light  was  extinguished  on  the  death  of  the  creature, 
and  so  have  killed  poor  glow-worms,  and  extracted  from 
the  tail  a  gelatinous  fluid  so  highly  phosphorescent  that 
they  could  read  by  its  light, 

I  returned  on  Monday  to  the  Dewali  to  sketch  the  car 
and  the  ark,  and  found  a  great  fair  going  on,  at  which  I 
invested  in  sundry  oddities. 

But  previously  the  great  Gem  -  Notary  of  Ratnapura 
(owner  uf  three-fourths  of  the  native  town)  had  sent  his 
carriage  in  the  early  morning  to  convey  us  to  his  geui-pits, 
where  white  awnings  liad  been  erected,  carpets  spread,  and 
all  made  ready  that  we  might  sit  in  the  utmost  comfort  to 
see  the  whole  process  of  digging  and  washing  the  gemmi- 
ferous gravel,  and  its  various  stages  of  examination.  First 
the  "  illan,"  as  it  is  called,  is  dug  up,  and  placed  in  wicker 
baskets,  which  are  washed  in  a  stream  close  by  to  get  rid  of 
the  clay ;  then  the  gravel  is  washed  in  long  sloping  wooden 
troughs,  with  divisions,  at  intervals,  of  perforated  zinc,  with 
holes  of  various  sizes.  By  these  first  the  largest  and  then 
the  smaller  stones  are  kept  back,  so  that  only  the  fine 
gravel  passes  through  the  last  grating,  thence  to  be  trans- 
ferred to  the  final  trough  for  critical  inspection. 

It  is  a  curious  sight  to  see  the  keen,  eager  faces  of  the 
^loormen  (Mahommedans),  to  whom  most  of  the  gem-pits 
belong,  and  who  sit  perched  on  raised  seats  overlooking  the 
great  troughs  wherein  a  long  row  of  coolies  (all  but  naked) 
are  sifting  and  washing  the  gravel,  which,  perchance,  may 
yield  some  priceless  gem,  only  to  be  recognised  in  its  rough 
exterior  by  experienced  eyes,  but  which  a  clever  coolie 
would  detect  as  quickly  as  his  master,  so  that  the  latter 


GEM-PITS.  9 

needs  to  practise  keen  vigilance  to  prevent  any  attempt  at 
concealment  of  treasure  -  trove.  Should  his  attention  be 
distracted  for  a  second,  some  precious  gem  may  be  swal- 
lowed, as  the  only  possible  means  of  securing  it.  So  the 
man  on  duty  sits  with  hawk-like  eyes  intently  fixed  on  the 
trough,  and  must  not  even  wink  till  his  successor  relieves 
guard.  Another  walks  about  keeping  a  general  look-out, 
just  to  "  mak'  sicker." 

These  Moormen,  who  are  fine,  tall,  well-built  men,  dressed 
in  white,  with  high  white  calico  hats  and  large  sun-umbrellas, 
look  quite  the  superior  race  among  their  squad  of  workers, 
with  neither  clothes  nor  turbans.  They  keep  the  trade  of 
polishing  and  cutting  gems  chiefly  in  their  own  hands ; 
the  commoner  stones  are  intrusted  to  provincial  lapidaries, 
but  all  really  good  gems  are  forwarded  to  the  mastei"S  of 
the  art,  most  of  whom  live  in  Colombo.  Unfortunately 
they  adhere  with  rigid  conservatism  to  their  primitive  tools 
and  system  of  cutting,  so  as  to  retain  the  largest  possible 
size  and  weight  at  the  sacrifice  of  brilliancy ;  consequently 
the  size  of  Ceylon  gems  is  generally  greatly  reduced,  and 
their  value  equally  enhanced,  when  they  have  been  re-cut 
by  European  lapidaries. 

No  stone  of  any  value  was  found  on  the  occasion  of  our 
visit,  but  the  Gem-Notary  invited  us  to  breakfast  at  his 
house,  and  there  exhibited  his  own  priceless  collection  of 
sapphires  of  every  size  and  shade  of  colour,  and  also  showed 
us  the  whole  process  of  cutting  and  polishing.  This  great 
"gemmer"  is  said  to  have  amassed  a  fortune  of  twenty 
lacks  of  rupees.  He  confesses  to  having  cleared  800,000 
rupees  from  one  alluvial  mine  near  llatnapura ;  and  one  of 
his  relatives  pointed  out  some  huge  gneiss  rocks  from  be- 
neath which  he  had  washed  out  20,000  rupees'  worth  of 


10  RATNAPURA — OEMS. 

sapphires,  the  average  price  in  Ceylon  of  a  good  sapphire 
being  £G  a  carat;  hut  of  course  a  specially  fine  or  large 
stone  commands  a  purely  fancy  price,  according  to  what 
some  wealthy  purchaser  may  be  willing'  to  pay  for  it.  Ceylon 
is,  par  excellence,  "  The  Land  of  the  Sapphire,"  these  being 
so  abundant  and  rubies  comparatively  rare,  therein  proving 
the  converse  of  Burmah,  where  the  ruby  is  pre-eminent  and 
sapphires  comparatively  scarce. 

Eatnapura,  as  is  implied  by  its  name,  "  The  City  of 
Rubies,"  is  the  centre  of  the  district  chiefly  noted  for  the 
abundance  and  value  of  the  precious  stones  which  have  been 
found  in  its  alluvial  deposits,  chiefly  in  the  beds  of  clay  or 
of  line  gravel  washed  down  from  inaccessible  mountain 
crags — which  of  course  suggests  that  if  these  only  could  be 
reached,  such  wealth  of  gems  could  be  obtained  as  would 
outshine  all  fables  of  Eastern  romance. 

Though  gem-bearing  deposits  exist  in  other  provinces, 
and  many  precious  stones  are  annually  collected  from  the 
beds  of  rivers  and  from  extemporised  gem-pits  in  many 
parts  of  the  Isle,  this  province  of  Sabaragamuwa  and  some 
parts  of  the  JMorawa  Korale  have  supplied  the  largest 
number  and  the  most  perfect  gems. 

I  believe  that  in  no  other  country  is  there  found  so  great 
a  variety  of  gems  as  in  Ceylon ;  in  fact,  true  diamonds, 
emeralds,  and  turquoise  are  said  to  be  the  only  absentees. 
Sapphires,  rubies,  topazes,  amethysts,  garnet,  alexandrite, 
chalcedony,  chrysoberyl,  pleonaste,  jacinth,  carbuncle,  dia- 
mond-spar, aquamarine,  cat's-eyes,  moonstones,  and  tour- 
malines are  abundant,  and  every  now  and  again  some 
fortunate  "  gemmer "  picks  up  a  treasure  worth  a  fortune. 
The  total  absence  of  diamonds  is  singular,  as  the  famous 
Golconda  diamond-mines  lie  so  near  in  Southern  India. 


THE   ISLE    OF  GEMS.  11 

But  Nature  keeps  all  these  treasures  enfolded  in  such 
ugly  crusts  that  only  a  practised  eye  can  ever  guess  which 
of  all  the  fragments  of  coarse  gravel  is  in  truth  the  price- 
less gem.  I  think  that  the  garnet  and  its  first  cousin,  the 
cinnamon-stone,  are  almost  the  only  exceptions  to  this 
jealous  concealment.  Here  and  there  in  the  forests  of  the 
eastern  and  southern  provinces  there  lie  masses  of  gneiss 
which  literally  gleam  in  the  sunlight  by  reason  of  myriads 
of  tiny  sparkling  garnets  embedded  in  the  rock.  The 
cinnamon-stone  presents  itself  in  the  same  unveiled  style, 
certain  great  rock-masses  being  so  thickly  encrusted  there- 
with that  gem  collectors  occasionally  carry  off  large  pieces 
in  order  to  extract  the  cinnamon-stones  at  their  leisure. 

Very  beautiful  masses  of  garnets  were  found  while  cutting 
the  tunnels  on  the  new  line  of  railway  above  Haputale, 
with  individual  crystals  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in 
length,  and  there  too  were  found  lumps  of  quartz  ranging 
in  colour  from  a  rich  red  to  a  milky  white,  and  some  of  a 
clear  blue,  said  to  prove  the  presence  of  true  cobalt. 

If  only  Mother  Earth  would  yield  all  her  crystals  ready 
polished  like  the  glittering  garnet,  then  Ceylon  would  really 
be  a  fairy  Isle  of  Gems  ;  for  not  only  do  her  hidden  trea- 
sures include  almost  every  recognised  precious  stone  save 
the  three  I  have  named,  but  her  list  acquires  inconceivable 
variety  owing  to  Nature's  freaks  in  the  matter  of  colour- 
ing, whereby  she  assimilates  different  stones  so  closely  as 
to  prove  hopelessly  confusing  to  the  eye  of  any  ordinary 
mortal. 

For  instance,  when  we  talk  of  sapphires,  we  naturally 
think  of  lovely  rich  blue  crystals  ;  and  though  it  is  easy  to 
recognise  as  legitimate  members  of  the  family  innumerable 
shades  ranging  from  the  deepest  invisible  blue,    too  dark 


12  RATNAPURA — GEMS. 

to  be  of  any  ornamental  use,  to  the  palest  clear  azure,  it 
becomes  extremely  perplexing  to  be  shown  pure  white  cry- 
stals, strangely  resembling  diamonds,  and  yellow  crystals, 
exactly  like  cairngorms  or  topazes,  and  to  be  assured  that 
they  are  all  sapphires.  Mr.  E.  W.  Streeter,  who  is  the 
great  authority  on  these  matters,  enumerates  the  colours  of 
Ceylon  sapphires  as  "  azure-blue,  indigo,  dark-red,  violet- 
blue,  poppy-red,  cochineal,  carmine,  rose-red  to  rose-white, 
milk-white,  yellow-white,  French-white,  lemou-yellow,  and 
green  !  "  I  have  also  seen  a  clouded  sapphire  of  a  greenish 
opalesque  colour,  said  to  be  due  to  water  in  the  stone. 

In  like  manner  true  rubies  are  found  of  every  shade  of 
colour.  A  spinel  naturally  suggests  a  lovely  rose-coloured 
gem,  but  here  we  may  see  sparkling  bright  blue  spinels. 
In  point  of  commercial  value  the  rose-tinted  rubies  of  Ceylou 
rank  lower  than  the  blood- red  rubies  of  Burmah,  and  I 
am  told  that  the  Singhalese  have  discovered  a  method  of 
enriching  their  colour  by  wrapping  them  in  shell-lime  and 
exposing  them  to  intense  heat.  The  Ceylonese  stone,  how- 
ever, is  considered  to  excel  that  of  Burmah  in  brilliancy  and 
fire,  and  very  valuable  blood-red  rubies  are  sometimes  found. 
One  weighing  26  carats,  and  valued  at  £5000,  was  found  at 
Eatnapura  in  1889. 

There  is  one  variety  both  of  ruby  and  sapphire  which  is, 
I  am  told,  peculiar  to  Ceylon,  namely,  the  asteria  or  star- 
ruby  and  star-sapphire,  both  of  which,  when  skilfully  cut 
and  polished,  reveal  a  luminous  six-raved  star  of  light  on 
a  blue  or  red  ground.      It  is  a  very  lovely  gem. 

I  do  not  know  whether  the  starry  rays  are  due  to  the 
same  cause  as  the  beautiful  light  in  the  luminous  olive-green 
cat's-eye ;  that,  I  am  told,  is  attributed  to  the  presence  of 
particles  of  asbestos,  a  theory  which  seems  confirmed  by  the 


cat's-eyes  and  moon-stones.  13 

successful  imitation  of  this  gem  which  is  manufactured  from 
crocidolite,  a  mineral  closely  related  to  asbestos. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Chinese  succeed  in  so  cutting  a 
pearly  shell  as  to  produce  a  very  pretty  so-called  cat's-eye, 
■with  a  luminous  internal  ray. 

The  true  cat's-eye  is  peculiar  to  Ceylon.  Very  fine 
stones  are  often  found  at  Eatnapura  and  in  Eakwane,  though 
the  finest  specimens  have  generally  been  found  in  the  gem- 
pits  of  Morowa  Korale  district,  considerably  farther  south. 
This  is  one  of  the  gems  the  value  of  which  is  specially 
affected  by  the  caprice  of  European  fashion,  according 
to  which  its  price  rises  and  falls  in  a  manner  exasperat- 
ing to  gem  speculators.  In  the  Oriental  market,  however, 
it  holds  a  steady  place,  being  especially  prized  by  the 
Malays. 

In  1889  a  splendid  cat's-eye  was  found  in  the  coffee  dis- 
trict of  Dikoya,  said  to  be  the  largest  and  most  valual)le 
yet  discovered.  It  was  picked  up  by  a  man  who  was  un- 
loading a  cart  of  earth,  and  at  once  sold  for  thirty  rupees. 
The  purchaser  resold  it  for  700  rupees,  and  the  next  owner 
secured  for  it  3000.  In  its  uncut  state  it  weighed  475 
carats.  When  cut,  it  was  reduced  to  170  carats,  and  was 
purchased  for  9000  rupees  by  a  merchant  who  valued  it  for 
the  London  market  at  30,000  rupees.  A  small  piece  of  the 
original  stone  weighing  6i  carats  was  sold  for  600  rupees. 
(The  nominal  value  of  the  rupee  is  2s.,  but  owing  to  the 
depreciation  of  silver  its  value  when  transmitted  to  Eng- 
land is  at  present  about  Is.  5d.) 

Another  lovely  luminous  stone,  supposed  to  have  been 
formerly  found  in  other  countries,  but  now,  I  believe,  only 
in  Ceylon,  is  tlie  moonstone,  which  has  a  soft  silvery  lustre 
suggestive  of  moonlight.     It  is  found  in  some  places  so 


It  RATNAPURA — GEMS. 

abimdaiitly  that  the  supply  exceeds  the  demand,  so  it  coin- 
niauds  a  very  low  price,  and  exceedit)g  pretty  ornaments  in 
really  good  taste  can  be  bought  for  a  very  small  sum. 

The  M(jrowa  Korale  has  also  yielded  almost  all  the  fine 
specimens  of  a  very  lovely  gem,  the  alexandrite,  so  called 
in  honour  of  the  Czar,  in  whose  dominions  it  was  first  dis- 
covered in  the  far  north.  The  peculiarity  is  that  by  day- 
light its  colour  is  a  rich  bronzed  green,  whereas  by  gas  or 
candle-light  it  appears  to  be  of  a  vivid  crimson — a  pheno- 
menon attributed  to  the  presence  of  copper  and  oxide  of 
lead.  Beautiful  and  interesting  as  is  this  stone,  I  am  told 
that  its  commercial  value  is  barely  one-twentieth  that  of  a 
ruby  of  good  quality.  Sometimes  a  stone  is  found,  and  dis- 
tinguished as  an  alexandrite  cat's-eye,  which  by  daylight 
is  dark-green,  with  a  cross  line  of  white  light.  This  at 
night  assumes  the  ruby  colour  aforesaid. 

A  very  remarkable  feature  in  the  beautiful  collection  of 
gems  exhibited  in  the  Ceylon  Court  at  the  Indian  and 
Colonial  Exhibition  in  1886  was  the  extraordinary  variety 
of  sapphires  of  various  colours,  no  less  than  fifty  different 
tints  being  there  exhibited.  Beautiful  specimens  of  all  the 
gems  of  the  Isle  were  gathered  together  under  the  watch- 
ful care  of  Mr.  Hayward,  who,  with  unwearying  courtesy, 
endeavoured  to  teach  me  and  many  another  inquisitive 
pupil  how  to  recognise  familiar  stones,  all  disguised  in 
uu  wonted  colours,  as  if  bent  on  a  masquerade. 

Even  the  topaz,  departing  from  its  traditional  golden 
hue,  comes  out  in  fancy  dress.  Xot  satisfied  with  assuming 
every  variety  of  colour,  from  pale  amber  to  the  richest 
brown,  it  occasionally  indulges  in  various  shades  of  red  or 
blue,  and  there  have  been  found  harlequin  specimens  com- 
bining blue  and  yellow  in  the  same  crystal !     Occasionally 


A    GEM    AMULET.  15 

the  topaz  assumes  a  faint  sea-green,  so  exquisitely  delicate 
that  even  experts  disagree  as  to  whether  such  a  stone  is 
really  a  precious  blue  topaz  or  "  only  an  aquamarine,"  in 
which  case,  by  a  freak  of  the  gem-market,  its  value  would 
be  greatly  deteriorated. 

How  truly  absurd  are  these  fantastic  standards  of  value ! 
I  remember  one  of  my  sisters  taking  a  number  of  Welsh 
topazes  to  be  set  by  an  eminent  jeweller,  who  admired  them 
greatly,  and,  assuming  them  to  be  Oriental,  gave  ber  a  large 
estimate  of  their  value.  But  on  her  mentioning  where  she 
had  found  them,  and  expressing  regret  that  she  had  not  col- 
lected more,  his  countenance  fell  as  he  exclaimed,  "  Welsh 
topazes !      Oh,  in  that  case  they  are  worth  a  mere  trifle  !  " 

You  can  understand  that  here,  where,  in  addition  to  the 
innumerable  skilful  frauds  of  the  trades  in  sham  siems. 
Nature  herself  does  so  much  to  puzzle  the  unwary,  the 
purchase  of  precious  stones  is  not  altogether  a  wise  form 
of  investment  for  non-professional  travellers.  In  fact,  the 
Moormen  take  very  good  care  that  these  shall  never  even 
see  their  really  valuable  stones,  which  they  keep  securely 
concealed,  and  like  to  retain  as  secure  property. 

As  regards  the  topaz,  not  only  are  its  own  varieties  of 
colour  perplexing,  but  there  are  other  stones  amongst  which 
the  untutored  eye  finds  it  hard  to  distinguish.  Such  is  the 
little-prized  cinnamon-stone,  a  crystal  of  a  rich  warm  orange- 
brown  tint — a  description  which  also  applies  to  the  zircon 
or  jacinth,  wliicli,  however,  ranges  in  colour  from  clear  gold 
or  delicate  pink  to  fiery  sparkling  red.  The  latter  are  very 
rare,  and  consequently  highly  valued.  Some  specimens  are 
tinged  with  olive-green.  The  zircon  is  sometimes  worn  as 
an  amulet  to  guard  its  owner  from  evil  spirits  and  to  assure 
the  blessing  of  sound  sleep.      Closely  akin  to  it  are  the  red 


16  RATNAPURA — GEMS. 

jacinth  and  the  white  or  grey  jargoon,  which  is  commonly 
known  as  the  Ceylon  or  Matara  diamond. 

Then  comes  the  tourmaline,  a  lovely  sparkling  gem 
which,  however,  not  being  the  fashion,  is  of  small  value. 
It  is  so  like  a  yellow  zircon  or  a  Scotch  cairngorm,  that 
I  for  one  despair  of  ever  being  able  to  distinguish  one  from 
the  other,  or  indeed  from  the  clirysoberyl,  though  the  latter 
sometimes  assumes  an  aesthetic  sage-green  peculiar  to  itself. 
These  lead  on  to  chrysolites,  and  to  sundry  other  stones 
more  or  less  precious. 

In  some  alluvial  districts  where  the  promise  of  gems 
seems  abundant,  they  are  found  to  have  undergone  the  same 
process  of  disintegration  as  the  rock  in  which  they  were  once 
embedded,  and  crumble  to  atoms  at  a  touch ;  so  that  there 
are  streams,  such  as  the  Manick-Ganga,  or  Elver  of  Gems, 
in  the  south-east  of  the  Isle,  the  sands  of  which  are  literally 
composed  of  glittering  particles  of  quartz,  mica,  rubies, 
sapphires,  and  other  crystals,  which,  gleaming  in  the  sun- 
light beneath  the  rippling  waters,  seem  like  the  realisation 
of  some  Eastern  fable,  till  closer  inspection  proves  them  to 
be  so  thoroughly  pulverised  as  to  be  literally  worthless  to 
the  gem-seeker,  albeit  so  fascinating  to  the  eye  which  can 
recognise  beauty  apart  from  intrinsic  value.  These  crystal 
sands  are  the  trainers  of  the  great  gem  family,  for  though 
not  destined  to  be  themselves  exalted  to  high  estate,  they 
supply  a  polishing  material  of  great  value  in  the  hands  of 
the  gem-cutter. 

Such  rivers  suggest  that  somewhere  near  their  rock- 
cradles  there  must  be  abundance  of  such  lovely  rose- 
coloured  quartz  as  is  occasionally  found  in  large  blocks 
near  Ratnapura,  as  if  Nature  had  wished  tu  carry  out  her 
ruby  colouring  on  a  wider  scale.     She  certainly  must  have 


GEM-SEEKERS.  1 7 

established  her  favoured  laboratory  somewhere  among  the 
great  hills  of  Sabaragamua,  whose  crumbling  crags  have 
scattered  such  precious  fragments  in  every  rocky  ravine 
and  over  all  these  alluvial  plains. 

To  a  race  so  keenly  addicted  to  gambling  as  the  Sing- 
halese, the  possibilities  of  such  glorious  prizes  as  may 
reward  the  gem-seeker  are  irresistible,  and  so  a  very  large 
number  of  the  natives  adopt  this  profession,  somewhat  to 
the  neglect  of  their  fields  and  gardens.  During  the  dry 
season  between  Christmas  and  Easter,  when  the  streams 
are  well-nigh  dried  up  and  their  gravelly  beds  laid  bare, 
hundreds  of  the  poorer  classes  devote  themselves  to  search- 
ing for  such  crystals  as  the  sweeping  torrents  of  the  previous 
months  may  have  brought  from  many  a  remote  mountain. 

But  the  wealthier  gem-seekers,  who  can  afford  preliminary 
outlay,  find  it  more  remunerative  to  work  systematically 
by  sinking  pits  in  the  plains  at  such  points  as  they  judge 
to  be  hopeful.  They  dig  through  layers  of  recently  deposited 
gravel,  soil,  and  cabook  till  they  reach  the  "  illan  "  or  gem- 
miferous gravel,  which  lies  from  five  to  twenty  feet  below 
the  surface.  Eatnapura  stands  in  the  centre  of  a  great 
gravel-bed  some  thirty  miles  square,  and  all  thus  buried ; 
but  pits  have  been  sunk  in  every  direction  by  gemmers, 
ancient  or  modern.  Of  the  latter,  some  are  now  being 
sunk  to  a  depth  of  80  to  100  feet.  The  cabook  is  a  hard 
deposit  of  plum-pudding  stone  formed  of  water-worn  pebbles 
embedded  in  hard  clay.  In  this  are  many  ciicular  hollows 
or  pockets — natural  jewel-cases — washed  out  by  the  eddying 
currents  of  ancient  rivers,  and  in  these  many  of  the  finest 
gems  have  found  a  resting-place.  The  illan  is  generally 
found  beneath  the  cabook. 

I  spoke  of  "  preliminary  outlay,"   but  indeed   this  is  not 

VOL.  II.  B 


18  IIATNAPURA — GEMS. 

excessive.  The  necessary  equipineut  of  a  gemming  party 
consists  of  a  few  mamotees  or  spades,  a  few  crowbars,  a 
long  iron  sounding-rod,  called  "  illankoora,"  for  gauging  the 
illan,  and  a  few  baskets  of  split  bamboo.  When  they  have 
dug  to  a  depth  of  five  or  six  feet,  should  the  sides  seem 
likely  to  give  way,  four  jungle-posts  are  inserted,  one  at 
each  corner,  and  cross-beams  round  the  sides  and  centre- 
beams.  As  the  digging  goes  on,  this  frail  support  is  like- 
wise deepened  till  the  gravel  is  reached,  where  it  is  scooped 
up  and  washed  in  the  bamboo  baskets.  As  with  all  other 
mining,  gemming  is  exceedingly  speculative.  A  pit  may 
prove  workable  in  a  few  days,  or  it  may  involve  months 
of  toil,  and  finally  be  abandoned  as  useless.  It  is  said  that 
of  every  ten  pits  sunk,  only  one  pays. 

In  that  one,  however,  there  is  scarcely  a  basketful  of 
gravel  which  does  not  contain  some  inferior  kind  of  gem, 
and  these  are  called  "  dallam  "  and  sold  by  the  pound,  at 
about  nine  rupees,  after  having  been  minutely  searched 
for  any  precious  stones,  which  are  found  in  the  proportion 
of  one  per  cent.,  and  of  course  really  valuable  ones  are 
very  much  more  rare.  However,  even  the  occasional  find 
of  a  real  treasure  suffices  to  keep  up  the  excitement.  For 
instance,  about  two  years  ago,  quite  a  poor  man  tried  his 
luck  in  a  gem-pit,  and  straightway  lighted  on  a  sapphire 
of  such  value  that  a  knowing  hand  at  once  secured  it  for 
£600,  and  a  few  days  later  doubled  his  money  by  selling 
it  in  Colombo  for  £1200.  It  was  expected  to  fetch  £3000 
in  London. 

Unfortunately,  although  some  very  poor  agricultural 
labourers  certainly  eke  out  their  scanty  living  by  working 
in  gem-pits,  most  of  the  money  thus  won  by  gemmers  of 
the  poorer  class  is  said  to  be  squandered  in  gambling  and 


LEGISLATION    IN   REGARD    TO    GEMMING.  19 

drinking,  so  that  perhaps  (though  some  injustice  is  appar- 
ently involved)  it  is  not  altogether  to  be  regretted  tliat 
recent  Government  ordinances  have  imposed  a  certain  check 
on  promiscuous  digging. 

Under  the  rule  of  the  Kandyan  kings,  the  right  of  dig- 
ging for  gems  was  a  royal  monopoly,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  certain  villages  were  told  of!'  for  this  purpose.  The 
office  was  hereditary,  as  was  also  that  of  the  headmen 
who  superintended  the  work.  Under  British  rule  this 
monopoly  was  dropped,  and  the  gemming  industry  was 
thrown  open  to  all  men,  with  the  sole  restriction  that  no 
one  might  dig  on  Crown  waste  lands  without  a  license. 
Portions  of  Government  land  were  sold  at  high  prices 
expressly  as  gem-lands,  and  the  right  of  private  individuals 
to  seek  for  gems  in  any  way  they  pleased  on  their  own 
land  was  never  questioned. 

In  1890,  however,  when  European  companies  decided 
to  bring  European  capital  to  commence  systematic  mining 
for  gems,  a  Gem  Ordinance  was  enacted,  which  is  said  to 
be  equal  to  an  initial  tax  of  10  per  cent,  on  problematic 
gains,  and  is  said  to  have  practically  killed  the  native 
industry  and  stopped  the  work  of  some  20,000  diggers. 
It  enacts  that  a  license  costing  five  rupees  must  be  obtained 
for  every  pit  opened,  in  whatever  locality — even  in  a  man's 
own  garden — and  a  further  sum  of  75  cents,  per  head 
is  levied  for  every  person  taking  part  in  the  work  in  the 
next  three  months.  Should  the  number  of  persons  thus 
licensed  for  employment  in  that  pit  be  exceeded,  the  whole 
license  may  be  cancelled,  and  tlie  extra  worker  may  be 
fined  fifty  rupees  or  suffer  six  mouths'  imprisonment. 
One  of  the  chief  dangers  of  mining  is  that  of  a  sudden 
influx   of   water  into   the  pit,  necessitating   an  immediate 


20  RATNAPDRA — GEMS. 

accession  of  lielping  hands ;  but  of  course  no  men  would 
care  to  risk  such  penalties  in  lielping  their  neighbours, 
and  as  the  formalities  to  be  observed  in  altering  a  license 
generally  involve  a  delay  of  three  or  four  days,  the  imme- 
diate result  of  this  legislation  has  been  the  abandonment 
of  a  very  large  number  of  pits. 

At  present,  reports  concerning  systematic  work  vary  con- 
siderably, one  company  being  reported  to  have  recovered 
£1000  worth  of  gems  in  a  week,  while  another,  which  had 
expended  about  £5000  on  sinking  pits,  only  recovered  gems 
worth  about  £400,  and  one  gentleman  who  had  sunk  £1000 
got  nothing  at  all.  These  not  being  endowed  with  the  lynx 
eyes  of  the  Moormen,  are  naturally  suspicious  that  their 
gems  have  been  pilfered,  and  regret  that  the  regulations  of 
the  African  diamond-fields  are  not  introduced  into  Ceylon. 
There,  they  say,  a  man  is  locked  up  for  having  in  his  pos- 
session a  gem  for  which  he  cannot  account  satisfactorily, 
while  in  Ceylon  the  man  who  holds  a  gem  can  prosecute 
the  man  who  dares  to  suggest  that  it  has  not  been  honestly 
obtained. 

Doubtless  a  solution  for  all  these  difficulties  will  be 
found  in  course  of  time,  and  there  seems  every  prospect 
that  the  gem  treasures  of  Ceylon  will  from  this  time  be 
developed  on  a  more  scientific  system.  The  great  object  is 
to  try  and  discover  those  mountain  geese  which  lay  these 
precious  eggs;  in  other  words,  to  find  the  matrix  whence 
the  sun  and  rains  and  rivers  have  extracted  those  speci- 
mens from  which  we  gather  such  suggestions  concerning 
that  hidden  treasury.  It  has  been  proved  that  in  Burmah 
limestone  forms  the  matrix  of  the  ruby,  so  the  first  thing  to 
be  done  in  Ceylon  is  to  examine  all  the  veins  of  limestone 
along  the  course  of  the  Ratnapura  Eiver  from  its  source  in 


PLUMBAGO.  21 

the  heart  of  the  mountains.  If  once  rubies  and  sapphires 
can  be  detected  in  these,  then  the  work  of  mining  could  be 
begun  in  real  earnest,  with  good  prospects  of  remunerative 
results. 

Those  who  are  interested  in  mineralogy  find  abundant 
food  for  study  in  the  very  varied  minerals  thrown  out  of  the 
gem-pits,  including  infinitesimal  atoms  of  gold,  which,  how- 
ever, is  not  found  in  quantities  that  would  pay  to  work. 
Mica  is  found  pretty  freely,  and  iron  is  abundant  in  certain 
districts. 

But  the  only  mineral  of  much  importance  in  Ceylon  is 
plumbago,  in  which  there  is  a  very  large  trade,  hitherto 
almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  natives,  who  dig  for  it  in 
the  plains.  It  is  thought  probable  that  the  companies  who 
go  to  the  mountains  in  search  of  gems  will  there  also  find 
the  cradle  of  the  plumbago,  which  they  hope  to  work  by 
horizontal  tunnels  at  far  less  expense,  and  without  the 
danger  from  water  which  attends  the  deep  excavations  in 
the  low  country.  In  some  of  these,  shafts  have  been  sunk 
to  a  depth  of  upwards  of  200  feet,  necessitating  the  free 
use  of  pumping  machinery.  It  is  estimated  that,  includ- 
ing carters,  packers,  and  carpenters,  who  manufacture  casks 
for  the  export  of  this  mineral,  about  24,000  persons  are 
employed  in  connection  with  this  industry,  which  is  chiefly 
carried  on  in  the  north-western  and  western  provinces, 
though  the  southern  province  likewise  yields  a  fair  share. 
But  three-fourths  of  the  whole  supply  is  dug  from  pits  in 
the  Kalutara  and  Kurunegala  districts. 

It  is  often  found  at  Eatnapura  and  elsewhere  in  large 
kidney-shaped  masses  lying  loose  in  the  soil,  and  also  forms 
so  large  an  ingredient  in  the  gneiss  rocks  that  these  seem 
speckled  with  bright  silver.     "When  this  rock  decomposes,  it 


22  RATNAPURA— GEMS. 

resembles  yellow  brick,  and  is  so  soft  that,  when  newly  dug 
out,  it  can  be  cut  to  any  shape,  but  quickly  hardens  when 
exposed  to  the  air.  It  is  a  valuable  material  for  the  manu- 
facture of  firebricks,  as  it  resists  the  greatest  heat. 

The  annual  export  of  pure  plumbago  from  Ceylon  (chiefly 
to  the  United  States  and  Europe)  amounts  to  about  240,000 
cwts.,  valued  at  about  two  and  a  half  million  of  rupees. 
Many  and  varied  are  its  uses,  in  supplying  the  lead  for  our 
best  Cumberland  pencils,  blacking  for  our  stoves,  and  an 
important  requisite  in  polishing  steel  guns  and  steel  armour 
for  warships ;  it  is  also  largely  used  in  colouring  dark  glass 
in  photographic  studios,  in  piano  and  organ  factories,  and 
even  in  hat  factories,  where  it  is  used  to  give  a  peculiar 
softness  and  smoothness  to  felt  hats ! 

So  what  with  plumbago  and  gems,  the  minerals  of  Ceylon 
travel  over  a  very  wide  range  of  the  earth. 


23 


CHAPTER  XV. 

BADULLA     AND    IIAPUTALE. 

Ratnapura  to  Batticaloa — Festival  cars — Polite  priests — Belihul-Oya — 
A  pink  rainbow — BacluUa — Haldummulla — Haputale  Pass — The 
railway — The  Happy  Valley  Mission — The  Ella  Pass — Badulla — 
Ants  and  ant-eaters — In  Madool.'^enie — Burning  the  forest — A  Roman 
Catholic  procession — Strange  compromises — Forest  conservancy — 
Chena-farming — Lantana — The  Park  Country — Rugam  tank. 

From  Eatnapura  we  travelled  by  easy  stages  to  Haldum- 
mulla, halting  for  the  nights  at  Pelmadulla,  Belangoda,  and 
Belihul-Oya,  passing  through  most  beautiful  scenery  and 
meeting  many  exiles  from  the  old  country,  to  whom  the 
sight  of  other  white  faces  was  an  unmistakable  pleasure. 

At  Pelmadulla  we  explored  the  Buddhist  Yihara,  and 
noted  with  interest  the  prevalence  of  triple  symbolism : 
saints  sitting  on  clouds,  each  holding  three  lotus  blossoms ; 
three  gods  looking  down  from  heaven  on  a  murder  scene ; 
three  fishes,  &c.  To  this  the  priests  seemed  to  attach  no 
significance  ;  and  yet  in  their  ordination  service  each  question 
is  repeated  thrice,  which  is  surely  suggestive  of  some  mystic 
meaning. 

I  sketched  a  great  gilded  festival  car,  tliree  storeys  high, 
and  two  very  odd  great  gilded  candelabra  on  wheels,  each 
five  storeys  high,  i.e.,  with  five  tiers  of  crystal  lamps  on 


24  BADULLA    AND    HAPUTALE. 

gilded  and  painted  brandies.  These  are  wheeled  in  pro- 
cession with  the  great  idol  car,  which  is  only  taken  out  once 
a  year,  at  tlie  April-May  festival,  which  is  that  of  the 
Singhalese  New  Year. 

The  priests  gathered  round  to  watch  the  sketch,  and  my 
attendants  enlarged  on  the  many  sacred  shrines  which  I  had 
visited  and  sketched  in  many  lands.  They  declared  that 
I  had  thereby  indeed  acquired  much  merit !  ^  They  were 
guilty  of  making  such  very  complimentary  speeches  that  I 
could  not  resist  putting  the  courtesy  of  one  friendly  priest 
to  a  cruel  test  by  asking  whether  he  would  be  very  sorry  if, 
in  his  next  transmigration,  he  should  be  born  a  woman ; 
whereupon  he  craftily  answered  that  when  that  happened, 
then  he  would  be  glad,  which  I  thought  a  very  neat  answer. 
But  he  dared  not  shake  hands  with  anything  so  bad  in 
this  life  ! 

In  all  this  district  the  climate  is  peculiarly  favourable 
to  the  growth  of  tropical  plants ;  for  while  the  great  rock- 
ramparts  receive  and  refract  the  full  heat  of  the  sun's 
burning  rays,  numerous  streams  rush  down  from  the  moun- 
tains, keeping  up  an  abundant  supply  of  moisture.  So  in 
this  warm  damp  atmosphere  all  lovely  things  of  the  green 
world  flourish — exquisite  tree-ferns  and  wonderful  creepers, 
which  interlace  the  larger  trees  in  an  intricate  network. 
Strange  orchids  find  a  niche  on  many  a  bough,  as  do  also 
very  brilliant  fungi,  purple,  yellow,  or  red.  One  remarkable 
feature  of  these  jungles  is  that  one  never  sees  a  dead  tree ; 

1  Some  are  more  discriminating.  I  was  one  day  sketching  in  the  temple 
of  Tiendong,  a  great  Buddhist  monastery  in  China,  vrhen  a  kindly  old  priest, 
who  had  watched  my  work  with  great  interest,  asked  quite  sadly  what  was 
the  good,  and  what  merit  could  there  be  in  my  doing  all  this,  if  I  did  not 
really  reverence  the  Poossas,  i.e.,  the  saints  and  their  images  ?  See  ""Wan- 
derings in  China,"  vol.  ii.  p.  41. 


LOVELY    PINK    RAINBOW.  2o 

the  white  ants  dispose  of  them  all,  except  in  the  plautation 
districts,  where  whole  forests  have  been  felled  and  burned, 
and  the  number  of  charred  trees  fairly  beats  even  these 
industrious  workers,  whose  huge  nests,  or  rather  castles, 
form  such  conspicuous  features  in  the  forest. 

In  swampy  places  and  along  the  banks  of  streams  here- 
abouts tliere  grows  a  peculiar  sort  of  bamboo,  very  tall  and 
slim,  and  devoid  of  all  lateral  branches.  It  seems  to  exist 
in  order  to  supply  ready-made  fishing-rods. 

The  view  from  the  rest-house  at  Belihul-Oya  is  especially 
charming ;  the  house  stands  on  the  brink  of  a  clear  rocky 
stream,  which  rising  in  the  grand  Maha-Eliya,  alias  Horton 
Plains,  rushes  down  a  deep-set  valley  from  a  grand  amphi- 
theatre of  intensely  blue  hills.  A  little  lower  it  assumes 
the  name  of  Welawe-ganga,  and  so  traverses  the  green 
province  of  Uva. 

Just  before  sunset  the  whole  scene  was  transformed- 
Looking  eastward,  the  sky  and  hills  were  all  flooded  with 
the  loveliest  rose-colour,  the  valley  bathed  in  ethereal  lilac, 
while  the  whole  was  spanned  by  a  strangely  luminous 
yellow  and  pink  rainbow,  losing  itself  in  a  mass  of  dark 
trees.  I  have  never  seen  anything  else  in  the  least  like 
that  fairy  archway. 

Brilliant  dragonflies — some  pure  scarlet,  others  emerald- 
green — skimmed  over  the  surface  of  that  bright  stream,  and 
many  splendid  butterflies  floated  joyously  in  the  sunshine. 
We  also  saw  strange  leaf-insects,  so  like  green  leaves,  that, 
till  they  flew  away,  it  was  impossible  to  believe  them  to  be 
alive ;  and  grasshoppers  with  red  bodies  and  bright  yellow 
crests  hopped  about  us  in  most  inquisitive  style. 

On  the  following  day  we  drove  on,  always  through  lovely 
country  and  along  the  base  of  great  hills,  whose  tumbled 


26  BADULLA    AND    HAPUTALE. 

fragments  lay  in  huge  boulders  at  tlie  base  of  precipitous 
crags,  till  we  came  to  Haldummulla,  3250  feet  above  the 
sea,  where  we  were  enfolded  in  genial  kindness,  Miss  Jermyn 
and  I  in  one  hospitable  home,  and  the  Bisliop  at  another. 
A  number  of  the  neighbours  had  assembled  to  meet  the 
Bishop  and  attend  the  Sunday  services,  which  were  held  in 
the  courthouse,  and  bright  hearty  services  they  were. 

It  is  a  beautiful  spot,  lying  as  it  does  at  the  foot  of  a 
grand  mountain  range,  yet  looking  down  over  a  vast  expanse 
of  cultivated  land,  chiefly  coffee,  and  a  sea  of  forest  through 
which  flow  hidden  rivers,  and  far  away,  seventy  miles  dis- 
tant, lies  the  glittering  sea,  on  which  we  could  sometimes 
distinguish  ships,  and  before  sunrise  we  could  discern  the 
sea  both  to  the  east  and  south.  From  our  next  halt,  at 
Haputale,  we  could  distinguish  the  exact  position  of  far 
distant  Hambantota  by  the  gleaming  light  on  the  saltpans. 

We  women-folk  had  two  days  of  delightful  rest  amid 
these  pleasant  surroundings,  while  the  Bishop  diverged  to 
meet  a  party  of  planters  and  hold  service  at  Lamastotte. 
This  was  the  first  district  in  which  coffee  estates  struck  me 
as  really  beautiful,  these  grand  sweeping  hillsides,  rising 
far  above  us  on  the  one  side,  and  on  the  other  sloping  down 
to  the  low  district  outstretched  before  us,  all  clothed  with 
the  glossy  verdure  of  the  low  bushes,  something  like  small 
I'ortugal  laurels,  and  all  covered  with  fragrant  blossom, 
white  as  newly  fallen  snow. 

At  that  time  King  Coffee  reigned  supreme,  and  every 
available  foot  of  land  was  given  up  to  this  one  culture, 
producing  in  most  districts  an  effect  of  great  monotony. 
Since  then  it  has  passed  through  very  evil  days,  and  in 
large  districts  has  been  wholly  supplanted  by  tea  and  other 
products ;  but  it  is  pleasant  to  learn   that   in  this  district. 


HAPUTALE.  27 

where  it  was  so  pre-eminently  luxuriant,  a  large  proportion 
has  recovered,  so  that  coffee  once  more  holds  a  foremost 
place  in  the  province  of  Uva. 

We  left  Haldummulla  and  all  the  warm-hearted  friends 
there  with  much  regret,  and  mounted  the  steep  ascent  (all 
by  admirable  roads,  both  as  regards  engineering  and  upkeep) 
till  we  reached  the  famous  Haputale  Pass,  4550  feet  above 
tlie  sea,  where  a  small  roadside  village  offered  rest  and  shelter 
to  weary  wayfarers,  and  a  halting-place  for  the  tired  bullocks 
which  had  dragged  up  heavily  laden  waggons. 

Xever  has  any  place  undergone  more  rapid  change  than 
has  been  wrought  here  within  the  last  two  years.  For  the 
long-desired  railway,  which  is  to  open  up  the  province  of 
Uva  and  bring  it  into  direct  communication  witli  Colombo, 
is  to  cross  the  dividing  range  at  Patipola,  which  is  just 
above  Haputale,  at  a  height  of  6223  feet  above  the  sea, 
thence  descending  to  the  south-western  plains. 

Hitherto  the  railway  terminus  has  been  at  ISTanuoya, 
five  miles  from  Nuwara  Eliya,  and  the  difficulties  of  making 
a  railway  over  the  twenty-five  miles  of  mountain  and  crag 
which  separate  Nanuoya  from  Haputale  seemed  well-nigh 
insurmountable.  Now,  however,  all  difficulties  are  being 
conquered  by  skilful  engineers  and  the  patient  toil  of  an 
army  of  five  thousand  workers,  chiefly  Tamil  coolies,  but  in- 
cluding many  Singhalese  and  Moormen — all,  of  course,  under 
European  direction.  And  for  all  this  great  body  of  men 
daily  rice  and  all  other  necessaries  must  be  provided,  and 
the  once  quiet  village  of  Haputale  is  now  a  centre  of  busy 
life,  and  also  unfortunately  of  a  nest  of  too  tempting  arrack, 
beer,  and  gin  shops,  to  say  nothing  of  an  opium  den,  all 
of  which  are  responsible  for  a  grave  amount  of  crime  and 
lawlessness. 


28  BADULLA    AND    HAPUTAI.E. 

Tlie  railway  work  is  divided  into  two  sections — one  from 
Nanuoya  to  Summit,  passing  below  the  Elk  Plains,  and 
crossing  comparatively  tame  grassy  hills  and  patenas,  but 
involving  a  rise  of  about  1000  feet,  the  other  from  Haputale 
to  Summit,  rising  1673  feet  over  a  rocky  chaos  of  shattered 
cliffs  and  ravines.  At  the  actual  summit  there  is  a  level 
of  about  three  miles,  and  at  a  point  not  far  from  there,  in 
the  direction  of  Nanuoya,  will  be  the  station  for  the  Horton 
Plains,  the  ^rand  sanatorium  of  the  future,  whicli  lies  only 
about  three  miles  off  the  line  of  railway ;  so  that  the 
weakest  women  and  children  will  be  able  without  any 
conscious  effort  to  breakfast  at  Colombo  and  sleep  on  these 
breezy  plains,  where  already  a  comfortable  rest-house  and 
most  lovely  garden  await  their  coming. 

Little  will  travellers  over  the  completed  line  dream  what 
tremendous  difficulties  have  been  overcome  in  preparing  the 
■way  for  their  easy  journey  over  a  region  which  can  only  be 
described  as  a  chaos  of  huge  crags,  break-neck  precipices, 
dangerous  and  impassable  gorges,  necessitating  a  continuous 
series  of  heavy  cuttings,  viaducts,  embankments,  and  long 
tunnels  through  solid  rock.  In  the  course  of  a  single  mile 
seven  tunnels  follow  in  such  rapid  succession  that  travellers 
will  be  sorely  tantalised  by  too  rapid  glimpses  of  the 
magnificent  scenery  all  around — mountains  seamed  with 
rocky  ravines,  clear  sparkling  streams  glancing  among  huge 
boulders  or  dashing  in  foaming  cataracts  over  sheer  pre- 
cipices to  the  cultivated  lands  far  below ;  tea  and  coffee 
estates  all  sprinkled  over  with  enormous  rocks,  each  as 
large  as  a  cottage,  and  then  the  vast  panorama  of  the 
sunny  lowlands  of  Uva,  its  vast  expanses  of  grass-land  and 
rice  stretching  far,  far  away  to  the  ocean. 

But  whatever  they  see  can  convey  no  idea  of  the  toil 


BROAD  OR  NARROW  GAUGE?  29 

and  danger  faced  by  those  who  traced  this  road  and  com- 
menced its  construction — of  their  hair-breadth  escapes  as 
they  crept  along  rock  ledges  of  crumbling  quartz  or  gneiss, 
with  a  wall  of  mountain  above,  and  a  sheer  precipice  below 
from  300  to  500  feet  in  depth,  or  zigzagged  by  giddy  tracks 
down  the  face  of  crags  where  goats  could  scarcely  climb 
for  pleasure. 

Still  less  will  they  realise  how  pitiless  rains  disheartened 
the  coolies  and  soddened  the  earth,  occasioning  terrible 
landslips,  in  one  of  which  seven  poor  fellows  were  buried 
alive,  while  another  brought  down  a  thousand  cubic  yards 
of  boulders,  earth,  and  gravel.  Awful  gales  likewise,  for 
days  together,  have  positively  endangered  the  lives  of  the 
workers,  and  proved  a  powerful  argument  in  favour  of 
adhering  to  the  heavier  carriages  of  a  "  broad  gauge  "  line, 
rather  than  yield  to  the  temptation  of  constructing  a  cheaper 
"  narrow  gauge  "  as  was  urged  by  some  economists,  and  most 
vigorously  and  ceaselessly  opposed  by  the  veteran  Editor  of 
the  *  Ceylon  Observer.' 

It  is  said  that  "  a  turn  begun  is  half  ended,"  and  great 
was  the  joy  of  the  isolated  planters  on  this  side  of  the 
island  when  the  long-desired  railway  was  actually  com- 
menced ;  and  energetically  has  it  been  pushed  on  by  all 
concerned. 

So  my  recollection  of  Haputale  as  a  lonely  mountain 
village  will  seem  as  a  dream  of  a  remote  past  to  those  wlio 
now  anticipate  the  time  when  it  will  rank  as  a  busy  town. 

Thence,  leaving  all  beautiful  scenery  behind  us,  we 
drove  about  a  couple  of  miles  down  the  pass  to  Bandara- 
wella,  which  is  all  grassy,  like  an  average  tract  of  English 
downs. 

In  this  immediate  neighbourhood  another  amazing  trans- 


30  BADULLA    AXD    HAPUTALE. 

formation  has  occurred,  namely,  the  formation  of  the  Hapu- 
tale  Happy  Valley  Mission,  where  the  Rev.  Samuel  Langdon 
of  the  Wesleyan  Mission  has  originated  a  whole  group 
of  excellent  institutions,  as  a  beginning  of  good  work  in 
this  hitherto  most  grievously  neglected  region — neglected 
because  so  remote  and  isolated  that  till  very  recently  com- 
paratively few  Europeans  found  their  way  here,  and  still 
fewer  knew  anything  of  the  wretchedly  poor  and  utterly 
ignorant  inhabitants.  Even  old  residents  were  startled 
when  they  realised  the  existence  of  an  agricultural  popula- 
tion of  about  180,000  Singhalese,  besides  many  Tamils, 
inhabiting  upwards  of  800  villages,  which  are  scattered 
over  the  numerous  valleys  among  the  grassy  foothills  and 
downs  which  lie  between  the  mountainous  Central  Pro- 
vince and  the  ocean,  forming  part  of  a  region  about  the  size 
of  "Wales,  which  has  quite  recently  been  created  a  distinct 
province,  namely,  that  of  Uva. 

In  the  whole  of  that  vast  district  there  were  till  within 
the  last  year  or  two  only  eight  schools  for  boys — not  one 
for  girls ;  and  although  in  some  villages  there  are  paiisala, 
i.e.,  Buddhist-temple  schools,  in  most  cases  the  priest  in 
charge  can  neither  read  nor  write  himself;  indeed,  in  some 
large  villages  not  one  man,  woman,  or  child  can  read. 

Could  Christian  schools  now  be  established  in  these 
villages,  a  very  great  step  would  be  gained,  as  otherwise 
the  Government  grant  will  go  to  aid  this  wretched  j^^nsala 
system  of  indigenous  education,  and  it  will  then  be  far  more 
difficult  to  secure  a  footing  than  in  the  now  vacant  field. 
But  except  in  the  town  of  Badulla  and  its  immediate  neigh- 
bourhood, very  little  Christian  work  was  attempted  till  quite 
recently,  the  various  missionaiy  bodies  being  totally  unable 
to  find  men  or  money  to  carry  it  on. 


AX    OPEN    DOOR.  31 

Now  small  beginnings  have  been  made  by  a  very  limited 
number  of  Episcopal  and  Wesleyan  missionaries,  whose  work 
consists  chiefly  in  walking  from  village  to  village,  preaching 
to  all  who  will  listen  to  them,  and  almost  everywhere  they 
are  received  with  kindness,  and  their  message  is  often  heard 
with  apparent  interest.  Only  in  some  places  the  people  are 
so  sunk  in  misery  and  immorality  that  all  their  faculties  are 
dormant  and  amendment  seems  to  themselves  impossible. 
They  say,  "  We  must  steal  and  sin  if  we  would  live.  What 
you  say  is  good,  but  it  cannot  help  us,  surrounded  as  we 
are  by  poverty  and  vice  and  disease."  The  almost  invariable 
attitude  towards  religion  of  any  sort  is  one  of  total  apathy, 
and  even  temporal  discomfort  is  accepted  as  the  inevitable 
result  of  having  failed  to  obtain  merit  in  a  previous  stage  of 
existence. 

Nowhere  have  these  preachers  met  with  any  active 
opposition,  but  they  find  a  wide-spread  dissatisfaction  with 
Buddhism,  and  especially  with  the  priests,  of  whom  these 
people  frequently  speak  in  terms  of  contempt.  Though 
some  are  nominally  Eoman  Catholic,  the  majority,  while 
professedly  Buddhist,  are  in  truth  devil-worshippers,  sunk 
in  depths  of  gloomy  superstition,  and  praying  only  to 
malignant  spirits  in  order  to  avert  evih  As  regards  the 
beneficent  teaching  of  Buddha,  not  only  the  people,  but  even 
many  of  the  priests,  are  so  ignorant  of  its  first  principles, 
that  any  argument  founded  thereon  is  utterly  wasted ;  but 
many  listen  gladly  to  preaching  which  tells  of  hope  both 
for  this  life  and  for  the  future.  So  the  report  of  these 
pioneers  is  that  everywhere  they  find  an  open  door,  and 
that  nothing  save  lack  of  men  and  of  means  to  support 
them  prevent  them  from  carrying  the  Word  of  Life  to  all 
these  800  villages. 


32  BADULLA    AND    HAPUTALE. 

Some  years  ago  the  Wesleyans  opened  a  successful  school 
for  girls  in  l^adulla,  till  quite  recently  the  only  one  in  the 
whole  of  Uva,  ^Yhich,  as  I  have  just  observed,  is  a  district 
about  the  size  of  Wales.  Here  about  fifty  bright,  happy-look- 
ing girls  are  now  being  well  brought  up  in  a  good  Christian 
home,  where  they  are  taught  clean,  tidy  habits,  and  are 
trained  to  definite  work,  so  as  to  be  able  in  after  years  to 
earn  their  own  living. 

Mr.  Langdon,  however,  could  not  rest  satisfied  till  a 
definite  footing  had  been  obtained  in  the  heart  of  the  most 
neglected  district,  and  gradually  his  grand  scheme  took 
definite  form. 

Having  obtained  from  Government  a  grant  of  200  acres 
of  fine  valley-patena  at  this  spot,  noted  for  good  soil  and 
a  perfect  climate,  with  an  annual  rainfall  of  90  inches, 
and  within  easy  reach  of  about  9000  of  these  poor  vil- 
lagers, he  has  established  a  home  for  orphans  and  desti- 
tute children,  where  all  shall  receive  "  such  a  training  as, 
under  God's  blessing,  shall  make  them  good,  honest,  and 
industrious  men  and  women."  The  children  under  nine 
years  of  age  are  taught  in  an  elementary  school,  and  older 
ones  in  the  industrial  school. 

Here  also  are  a  convalescent  hospital  and  a  hospital  for 
children,  where  bright  wards  gay  with  coloured  prints  and 
the  loving  care  of  skilful  attendants  seem  like  a  foretaste 
of  heaven  to  the  poor  little  sufferers  who  are  brought  here 
from  their  miserable  homes.  But  owing  to  scarcity  of 
funds,  only  a  few  wards  are  as  yet  furnished,  and  from  the 
same  cause  the  devoted  superintendent  and  his  wife  are 
often  compelled  to  refuse  admission  to  the  other  depart- 
ments, in  many  cases,  especially  that  of  sorely  tempted  half- 
caste  girls,  where  they  know  that  rejection  means  perdition. 


THE    HAPPY    VALLEY    MISSION.  33 

In  his  very  latest  letter,  Mr.  Langdon  tells  of  his  grief 
at  having  been  compelled  to  refuse  admission  to  poor  little 
orphan  children  who  were  without  food  or  shelter,  too  young 
to  work,  but  old  in  suffering ;  but  he  had  already  received 
as  many  as  he  dared  to  undertake  till  funds  improve.  This 
is  the  only  home  in  Ceylon  where  starving  children  are 
received  without  payment,  but  it  is  evident  that  it  stands 
in  great  need  of  further  support. 

At  nine  years  of  age  girls  are  drafted  off  from  the  ele- 
mentary school  at  Haputale  to  a  girls'  home  and  orphan- 
age in  BaduUa,  which  was  opened  in  1889  to  receive 
orphans  and  destitute  girls ;  but  so  excellent  is  the  training 
there  given,  that  the  managers  are  besieged  with  requests 
to  receive  the  daughters  of  respectable  parents  as  boarders, 
and  it  already  numbers  fifty  pupils.  The  tuition  is  the 
same  as  that  given  in  the  Wesleyan  Industrial  School  for 
girls  at  Ivaiidy,  namely,  all  that  can  fit  girls  for  domestic 
service  as  nurses  and  under-ayahs,  or  for  wise  house- 
keeping. They  are  taught  cooking,  biscuit-making,  dress- 
making, sock  and  stocking  knitting,  sewing,  and  mat-weaving. 

No  caste  prejudices  of  any  kind  are  allowed;  the  educa- 
tion is  religious  throughout,  without  compulsion,  no  pre- 
ference whatever  beiug  shown  to  Christian  children. 

Boys  are  in  like  manner  transferred  when  nine  years  of 
age  to  the  industrial  school,  which  can  receive  nearly  a 
hundred,  but  they  remain  in  the  Happy  Valley,  and  in 
its  workshops  are  duly  instructed  in  various  branches  of 
industry,  such  as  carpentry,  smith-work,  shoemaking,  and 
agriculture,  and  instead  of  growing  up  to  be  loafers  and 
lying  vagabonds,  they  are  taught  to  earn  their  own  living, 
and  to  be  truthful  and  useful,  and  a  comfort  to  their 
friends  and  neighbours. 

VOL.  II.  C 


34  BADULLA   AND    HAPUTALE. 

Boys  and  girls  are  also  educated  according  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  Public  Instruction  Code. 

Many  of  the  poor  little  creatures  arrive  at  the  Home  in 
a  most  filthy  condition,  apparently  not  having  been  washed 
for  months,  but  allowed  to  run  wild  in  the  villages,  and 
even  for  weeks  together  in  the  jungle,  with  no  one  to  look 
after  them  in  any  way.  Such  is  the  raw  material  from 
which  Mr.  Laugdon  hopes  to  produce  valuable  agents  for 
the  regeneration  of  Uva,  taking  for  his  motto  the  verse, 
"  A  little  child  shall  lead  them."  ^ 

A  very  important  feature  of  the  Mission  is  a  reforma- 
tory home,  the  first  thing  of  the  sort  ever  commenced  in 
Ceylon.  Its  dormitories,  offices,  teaching,  and  workrooms 
are  all  pronounced  admirable,  as  are  also  the  flourishing 
farm  and  orchard,  which  are  being  worked  entirely  by  lads 
who,  under  the  former  system,  would  have  been  serving 
their  apprenticeship  in  crime  in  the  various  prisons  of  the 
Isle.  The  farm  is  well  stocked  with  cattle,  sheep,  goats, 
pigs,  and  poultry,  and  it  has  a  small  tea  and  coffee  estate, 
rice- fields,  garden,  and  dairy. 

This  reformatory,  which  is  capable  of  accommodating  a 
hundred  boys,  is  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  distant 
from  the  orphans'  home,  so  there  need  not  be  injudicious 
amalgamation  of  young  criminals  with  other  lads,  till  the 
former  have  started  on  a  new  tack,  wliich  is  rarely  long 
delayed  amid  such  totally  new  influences.  The  situation 
of  the  Mission  is  perfect,  being  a  beautiful  elevated  plateau 
in  a  very  healthy  isolated  situation.  There  is,  however, 
a  resident  doctor  to  watch  over  the  health  of  this  rapidly 
increasing    community,   and    every    account   of   it   tells   of 

^  Story  of  the  Happy  Valley  Mission.  By  the  Rev.  Samuel  Langdon. 
London. 


DOWN    THE   ELLA    PASS.  35 

bright,  happy  young  faces,  already  proving  how  trulj'  they 
respond,  physically  and  morally,  to  the  care  bestowed  on 
them. 

Another  good  work  now  commenced  for  the  benefit  of 
various  districts  of  Uva  and  other  hitherto  neglected  parts 
of  the  country  has  been  the  establishment  by  Government 
of  field-hospitals.  A  group  of  cottages  with  mud  walls  and 
thatched  roofs  are  erected  in  some  isolated  spot.  These 
are  the  wards,  beside  which  a  larger  bungalow  acts  as  dis- 
pensary and  dwelling  for  the  medical  officer  and  dispenser. 
Of  course  there  is  always  a  little  preliminary  prejudice 
against  foreign  methods  of  treating  the  sick,  but  very  soon 
this  is  overcome,  and  the  wards  are  sometimes  crowded 
with  poor  sufferers,  thankful  to  have  the  opportunity  of 
obtaining  skilled  relief. 

Leaving  Bandarawala,  we  drove  to  the  head  of  the  Ella 
Pass,  and  suddenly  found  ourselves  looking  down  a  magni- 
ficent valley  formed  by  a  whole  series  of  mountains,  some 
crowned  with  majestic  crags,  some  still  partially  clothed  in 
forest,  others  all  terraced  with  infinite  toil  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  mountain-rice,  and  all  alike  vanishing  from  our  view 
in  the  deep  blue  gloom  of  the  ravine  far  below.  I  am  told 
that  "  Ella  "  means  a  waterfall  or  rapid,  which  in  this  case 
must  apply  to  the  great  Magania  Eiver,  which  rushes  down 
the  gorge  far  out  of  sight,  suggesting  during  what  countless 
ages  the  mountain  torrent  must  have  toiled  and  fretted  ere 
it  carved  for  itself  this  mighty  channel. 

Beyond  these  nearer  mountains  lay  outspread  the  beau- 
tiful Park  Country,  stretching  right  away  to  Batticaloa  and 
the  sea.  The  district  is  well  named,  for  in  truth  it  is  one 
broad  expanse  of  fine  open  park  of  good  pasture-land  and 
sweet  short  grass,  well  watered  by  several  large  rivers  and 


36  BADULLA    AND    HAPUTALE. 

numerous  clear  streams,  and  interspersed  with  clumps  of 
fine  old  trees.  Near  the  base  of  the  great  central  moun- 
tains are  ranges  of  low  rocky  ridges,  partly  clothed  with 
tall  lemon-grass,  much  higher  than  a  man,  sometimes  grow- 
ing to  a  height  of  twelve  feet.  It  is  terribly  punishing  to 
those  who  have  to  force  a  way  through  it.  In  some  places 
it  is  dense  and  tangled,  in  others  it  grows  in  tall  tufts  from 
the  rock  crevices.  Some  of  the  plains  are  so  covered  with 
lemon-grass  that,  as  the  wind  sweeps  over  it,  it  is  like  an 
nudulating  sea  of  waving  corn. 

Plight  away  from  the  mountains  the  Park  itself  is  studded 
with  detached  masses  of  granitic  gneiss,  like  fortresses  of 
giants,  but  beautified  by  trees  of  large  growth,  which  have 
contrived  to  find  root  in  the  crevices. 

There  being  no  rest-house  at  this  place,  quite  an  ideal 
temporary  bungalow  had  been  prepared  for  the  Bishop — a 
framework  of  bamboos  and  strong  posts  filled  in  and  thatched 
with  stout  aloe  leaves  and  jaggary  and  talipot  palm  leaves, 
all  the  inside  being  draped  with  calico,  and  decorated  with 
the  graceful  blossoms  of  the  cocoa  and  areca  palms  (like 
bunches  of  splendid  wheat).  This  large  bungalow  was 
divided  into  central  dining-room,  with  side  bedrooms  and 
dressing-rooms  all  complete.  A  very  handsome  pandal  (arch 
of  welcome)  was  erected  in  front  of  the  house,  and  a  com- 
fortable stable  and  house  for  the  servants  at  the  back. 
This  really  was  luxurious  camping  in  the  wilds  ! 

Hearing  of  a  small  rock-temple  in  the  Ella  Pass,  I  started 
in  search  of  it.  It  proved  rather  a  long  expedition,  ending 
in  a  scramble  across  paddy-fields  and  along  a  hillside.  It 
proved  to  be  a  very  small  temple  amid  most  picturesque 
surroundings,  huge  rock-boulders,  fine  old  Eo-trees,  temple- 
trees  loaded  with  fragrant  blossom,  and  tall  palms.    Within 


BADULLA.  37 

the  temple  are  sundry  odd  paintings  and  images  of  coloured 
clay ;  amongst  others,  one  of  a  large  cobra  coiled  up,  -with 
its  head  forming  the  canopy  above  a  small  image  of  Buddha 
sitting  cross-legged  upon  the  coils. 

In  looking  over  my  sketches,  I  see  that  under  a  crag  at 
the  head  of  the  pass  I  have  written  Sri  Pada  Keta,  which 
suggests  its  possession  of  a  holy  footprint,  probably  a  modern 
imitation  of  that  on  Adam's  Peak. 

Descending  the  pass  by  a  steep  zigzag  road,  and  follow- 
ing the  course  of  a  river  fringed  with  luxuriant  clumps 
of  bamboo,  we  came  to  Oodawere,  a  pretty  and  hospitable 
home,  further  embellished  by  a  number  of  "  potato-trees," 
which,  as  I  have  already  mentioned,  are  really  gorgeous 
trees,  robed  in  purple  and  gold, — that  is  to  say,  they  are 
loaded  with  blossoms  like  our  brightest  potato-flowers,  only 
three  times  as  big.      (This  was  in  the  month  of  August.) 

Thence  we  drove  on  to  Badulla,  the  capital  of  Uva,  a  very 
pretty  little  town  in  the  midst  of  a  grassy  and  well- wooded 
and  well- watered  plain,  about  2200  feet  above  the  sea-level, 
and  surrounded  on  every  side  by  fine  hills  of  very  varied 
form.  There  is  a  considerable  amount  of  rice  culture  round 
the  town,  which  seems  like  an  island  crested  with  cocoa- 
palms  rising  from  a  sea  of  velvety  green.  It  was  here  that 
the  Buddhist  people  erected  a  neat  Christian  church  to  the 
memory  of  Major  Pogers,  in  token  of  their  appreciation  of 
his  wise  and  impartial  rule  in  this  district.^ 

That  church,  which  has  now  been  considerably  enlarged 
and  beautified,  was  charmingly  decorated  in  honour  of  the 
Bishop's  arrival,  and  an  exceedingly  graceful  pandal  was 
erected  at  the  entrance  to  the  churchyard,  the  road  for  a 
considerable  distance  being  bordered  with  fringes  of  torn 

'  See  chapter  viii. 


38  BADULLA    AND    HAPUTALE. 

yellow  banana  leaves,  the  effect  of  wliich,  in  connection 
with  the  pandal,  is  very  light  and  characteristic. 

A  number  of  Europeans  liad  assembled  to  meet  the 
Bishop,  so  there  were  full  congregations  and  pleasant  social 
gatherings.  Several  Kandyau  chiefs  appeared  in  their  gor- 
geous full  dress,  with  the  large-sleeved  brocade  jackets, 
"peg-top"  shaped  swathing  of  fine  muslin,  and  wonderful 
jewelled  hats. 

I  sketched  the  whole  scene  from  the  old  fort,  which  is 
now  used  as  a  courthouse,  where  many  very  varied  groups 
of  Moormen  and  Malays,  Tamils,  Singhalese,  and  Burghers 
came  and  went  the  livelong  day.  Fine  hills,  rich  foliage, 
tall  cocoa  and  areca  palms,  and  cosy-looking  red-tiled  build- 
ings combined  to  make  up  a  very  attractive  scene,  blue  and 
white  convolvulus  matting  the  nearer  shrubs,  and  the  balmy 
air  fragrant  with  the  scent  of  rosy  oleanders. 

I  am  told  that  among  many  recent  improvements  have 
been  the  formation  of  a  small  lake,  always  a  pleasant 
feature  in  a  landscape,  and  also  of  a  park  and  racecourse. 
An  excellent  new  feature  is  a  botanic  and  experimental 
garden  for  the  acclimatising  of  all  possible  novelties  in  the 
way  of  desirable  fruit-trees  and  vegetables.  Already  the 
apples  and  pears  of  Badulla  are  making  their  mark,  and 
potatoes  weighing  upwards  of  a  pound  each  are  a  delightful 
reminder  of  Britain,  dearer  to  her  exiled  sons  than  the  most 
ambrosial  tropical  fruits. 

I  found  another  sketching  ground  at  the  Kataragam 
Devale,  an  old  Hindoo  temple  to  Skanda,  the  god  of  war, 
which  attracted  our  unwilling  attention  by  the  deafening 
noise  of  its  "  services  "  daily  at  5  a.m.  and  all  the  evening — 
truly  a  very  odious  neighbour.  The  Buddhist  Vihara  was 
happily  less  noisy.     It  and  a  dagoba  of  considerable  size 


DOMESTIC    USE    FOR    GRAVESTONES.  39 

date  from  about  A.D.  200,  so  they  are  distinguished  by 
some  of  the  calm  of  old  age  ;  otherwise  Buddhist  temples 
are  wont  to  rival  those  of  the  Hindoo  gods  in  the  terrific 
noise  produced  by  the  roar  of  shell-trumpets,  the  beating  of 
drums,  and  the  shriek  of  shrill  brass  pipes. 

I  was  told  of  a  curious  carved  stone  at  another  temple, 
on  which  is  sculptured  a  short  two-headed  snake,  a  sight  of 
which  was  "  good  for  broken  bones ; "  so  of  course  we  set 
out  in  search  of  this  interesting  object,  but  failed  to  find 
the  temple. 

But  there  are  stones  of  more  pathetic  interest  in  the  old 
cemetery,  some  of  which  date  as  far  back  as  the  "  rebellion" 
of  1817—18,  a  time  when  the  lives  of  British  officers  and 
their  wives  in  these  remote  forts  must  have  been  sorely 
beset  with  anxieties.  One  crumbling  stone  marks  the  grave 
of  a  young  bride  only  sixteen  years  of  age.  Another  marks 
that  of  Mrs.  Wilson,  who  came  here  from  her  home  at 
Stratford-on-Avou,  and  died  in  1817,  aged  twenty-four. 
She  was  the  wife  of  the  Government  Agent,  who  shortly 
afterwards  was  shot  by  an  arrow,  and  whose  head  was  cut 
off  and  exposed  on  a  tall  pole.  Her  grave  is  protected  by 
the  roots  of  a  fine  old  Bo-tree,  which  have  enfolded  it,  thus 
marking  it  as  sacred  in  the  eyes  of  the  natives,  to  whom 
otherwise  a  neglected  cemetery  is  simply  a  valuable  quarry 
whence  to  abstract  ready-hewn  flat  stones  just  suitable 
for  grinding  curry-stuffs  upon  !  Of  course  this  sacrilege  is 
punished  when  detected,  but  its  perpetration  is  easy  and 
the  temptation  ever- recurring,  so  that  many  and  many  an 
old  gravestone  has  vanished  in  all  parts  of  the  Isle. 

In  all  this  district  we  heard  grievous  complaints  of  the 
ravages  wrought  by  white  ants,  and  of  the  ceaseless  vigilance 
necessary  to  guard  against  their  advances.    In  native  houses 


40  BADULLA    AND    HAPUTALE. 

an  extra  plaster  of  cow-dung  is  applied  to  the  floors  and 
walls,  and  is  considered  efficacious  ;  but  somehow  super- 
fastidious  Europeans  do  not  appreciate  this  remedy  suffi- 
ciently to  introduce  it  into  their  homes !  But  certainly  the 
white  ants  do  muster  strong,  their  great  earth  castles,  five  or 
six  feet  in  height,  and  six  or  eight  in  circumference  at  the  base, 
being  common  roadside  objects.  Near  some  of  the  tanks  the 
ground  is  strewn  with  little  green  hillocks  about  three  feet 
in  height ;  these  also  are  ant-hills  overgrown  with  grass. 

The  ants,  of  all  sizes  and  colours,  have  two  singular  and 
very  different  foes.  One  is  the  strange  little  ant-lion,  which 
is  the  hideous  larva  of  an  insect  like  a  small  dragonfly. 
It  is  an  oblong  hairy  creature,  only  about  half  an  inch  long, 
\vith  a  very  large  stomach  and  a  very  small  head.  It  has 
two  large  arms  and  six  legs,  with  which  it  contrives  to  move 
backward,  but  so  slowly  that  it  could  never  capture  a  dinner 
without  stratagem.  So  it  makes  a  small  funnel-shaped  pit 
iu  the  sand,  and  buries  itself  at  the  bottom  with  only  its 
eyes  and  arms  visible.  There  it  lies  in  wait  for  any  rash 
ant  which  ventures  too  near  the  edge  ;  as  soon  as  one  does 
and  begins  to  slip  down-hill,  the  ant-lion  throws  sand  at  it 
and  so  helps  it  down,  wlien  he  sucks  its  life-juices  and  then 
jerks  out  the  corpse. 

The  other  foe  is  on  a  much  larger  scale,  and  is  known 
as  the  great-scaled  ant-eater  ^ — a  very  different  creature, 
however,  from  the  ugly  hairy  ant-eater  ^  of  South  America, 
although,  like  it,  it  has  no  vestige  of  teeth,  only  a  long 
glutinous  tongue  with  which  to  lick  up  the  ants.  The  Ceylo- 
nese  and  Indian  ant-eater  is  clothed  in  a  coat  of  mail,  being 
covered  with  hard  plates  of  clear  horn,  and  when  frightened 
it  hides  its  head  between  its  legs  and  curls  its  tail  beneath 

'  Ma7iis  jjcntadactyla.  •  Myrmecophaga. 


BURNING   THE   FOREST.  41 

it  and  right  over  its  head,  which  it  covers  completely,  pre- 
senting the  appearance  of  an  armour-plated  ball.  The 
strength  of  several  men  combined  could  not  uncoil  that 
little  creature  against  its  will.  Hence  its  common  name, 
"  pengolin,"  which  is  derived  from  a  Malay  word  meaning 
"  to  roll  up." 

It  breaks  into  the  ants'  citadels  with  its  sharp  powerful 
claws,  and  licks  out  the  garrison  with  its  long  slender  tongue. 
It  is  a  pretty  creature,  and  grows  to  about  three  or  four 
feet  in  length.  Being  easily  tamed  and  very  gentle,  it 
makes  rather  a  nice  pet,  though  its  habit  of  burrowing 
seven  or  eight  feet  into  the  ground  makes  it  somewhat 
troublesome,  its  claws  being  so  powerful  that  it  can  dig 
through  anything.  It  climbs  trees  as  nimbly  as  a  cat,  but 
is  never  seen  by  day.  It  wanders  about  during  the  night, 
but  steals  back  to  its  hole  at  dawn. 

The  Bishop's  next  work  lay  in  the  district  of  Madoolseme. 
The  first  stage  was  right  up-hill  to  Passara,  where  there 
was  a  school  to  be  examined  ;  then  on  to  Yapane,  above 
which  rises  a  hill  naturally  fortified  by  most  singular  ridges 
of  gneiss.  Then  "  upward,  still  upward,"  till  we  reached 
Mahadova,  where  the  owner  of  many  nice  dogs  gave  us 
cordial  welcome  and  most  luxurious  quarters. 

Here  we  witnessed  one  of  the  most  characteristic  sights 
of  Ceylon,  and  one  which  remains  stamped  on  my  memory 
as  one  of  the  most  awesomely  grand  scenes  it  is  possible 
to  conceive.  A  tract  of  1 60  acres  of  dense  forest,  clothing 
both  sides  of  a  deep  mountain  gorge,  had  been  felled,  and 
had  lain  for  some  weeks  drying  in  the  sun. 

I  may  mention  that  the  method  of  felling  is  ingenious  as 
a  means  of  economising  labour.  Beginning  at  the  lowest 
level,  all  the  trees  are  half  cut  through  on  the  upper  side  ; 


42  BADULLA    AND    HAPUTALE. 

gradually  the  regiment  of  woodcutters  ascend,  till  at  last 
they  reach  the  summit,  when  the  topmost  trees  are  entirely 
cut,  and  fall  with  a  crash,  carrying  with  them  those  below, 
which  in  their  turn  fall  on  the  next,  and  so  on,  like  a  row 
of  ninepins  crashing  all  down  the  hillside,  till  the  last 
ranks  have  fallen,  and  the  glory  of  the  beautiful  forest  is 
a  memory  of  the  past,  only  a  few  trees  here  and  there 
remaining  standing  for  a  little  longer. 

When  the  timber  is  fairly  dry,  then  the  planter  waits  for 
a  day  when  the  wind  is  moderate  and  in  the  right  direction 
to  blow  the  flames  away  from  his  plantations  or  reserved 
forest,  and  then  the  blaze  begins. 

On  the  present  occasion  we  were  posted  well  to  wind- 
ward, and  then  fire  was  applied  simultaneously  in  many 
places,  and  spread  with  amazing  velocity,  till  all  the  fires 
joined  in  one  wild  raging  sheet  of  flame  in  the  depths  of 
the  valley,  whence  fiery  tongues  shot  heavenward  mingled 
with  dense  volumes  of  smoke  of  every  conceivable  colour, 
white,  blue,  yellow,  orange,  and  red,  changing  every  moment 
and  covering  the  whole  heaven  with  a  hot  lurid  glow,  while 
the  thundering  crash  of  falling  timber  and  roar  of  the  mad 
flames  were  deafening. 

We  ran  rather  a  narrow  risk  of  contributing  some  par- 
ticles of  charcoal  to  the  coflee,  having  taken  up  a  com- 
manding position,  so  as  to  look  right  down  the  gorge,  in  a 
corner  of  reserved  forest,  beneath  the  cool  green  shade  of  a 
group  of  beautiful  tree-ferns  and  beside  a  clear  streamlet, 
in  which  it  was  refreshing  to  bathe  our  scorched  faces. 
Happily  we  obeyed  a  shout  from  more  experienced  friends, 
who  bade  us  come  down  quickly,  which  we  most  unwillingly 
did,  and  only  just  in  time  ;  for  hardly  had  we  done  so,  when 
the  flames  swept  upward  in  resistless  fury  like  corkscrews, 


CLEARING   THE   FOREST.  43 

twining  upward  and  onward.  We  rushed  away  half-suf- 
focated, and  soon  the  whole  patch  of  reserved  forest  was 
one  sea  of  fire,  which  even  extended  its  ravages  to  some 
neif'hhourincr  coffee.  Next  morninfr  we  had  occasion  to 
ride  along  a  narrow  path  overlooking  the  scene,  and  only  a 
veil  of  blue  SDQoke  curling  from  among  the  blackened  ruins  of 
the  forest  told  of  the  mad  conflagration  of  the  previous  day. 

There  is  great  luck  in  the  matter  of  burns.  Sometimes 
the  fires  die  out  too  soon,  and  the  timber  is  insufiiciently 
burnt.  Sometimes  they  rage  too  furiously,  and  the  soil  is 
scorched  to  such  a  depth  as  to  be  grievously  injured.  No 
sooner  is  the  land  cooled  than  an  army  of  coolies  over- 
spread it,  and  cut  square  holes  in  every  possible  corner, 
no  matter  how  rocky  the  soil  (indeed,  the  rockier  the 
better),  or  how  dizzy  the  precipitous  height ;  wherever  a 
crevice  can  be  found,  there  a  precious  little  bush  must  be 
inserted,  and  after  a  wliile,  as  its  roots  expand,  a  small 
artificial  terrace  must  probably  be  built,  to  afford  them 
space  and  prevent  the  rains  from  washing  all  the  earth 
from  their  roots.  Nothing  can  be  more  hideous  than  the 
country  at  this  stage. 

After  a  while,  however,  matters  improve,  and  by  the  time 
the  coffee  shrubs  attain  their  proper  size,  the  whole  country 
becomes  densely  clothed  with  glossy  green,  and  though  the 
black  stumps  and  great  charred  trunks  remain  standing  for 
many  a  year,  they  do  gradually  decay,  or  else  become  so 
bleached  by  the  sun  that  the  coffee-fields  resemble  a  gigantic 
cemetery,  with  headstones  utterly  without  number. 

Twice  a  year  the  whole  country  appears  for  a  few  days 
as  if  covered  with  a  light  shower  of  snow,  each  bush  being 
veiled  with  wreaths  composed  of  tufts  of  fragrant  white 
blossom.     These  in  due  time  give  place  to  bunches  of  green 


44  BADULLA   AND   HAPUTALE. 

berries,  which  eventually  become  scarlet  cherries,  very 
tempting  to  the  eye,  but  insipid  to  the  taste.  Within 
these  lie  two  precious  coffee-beans  ;  the  red  pulp  is  removed 
by  machinery,  and  is  useless,  except  as  manure  for  the 
bushes — a  sort  of  cannibalism  is  it  not  ?  The  beans  are 
then  dried  in  the  sun,  and  the  skin  or  "  parchment "  with 
which  each  is  coated  must  be  removed,  after  which  they  are 
ready  for  roasting. 

When  the  coffee  is  dry,  it  is  tied  up  in  sacks  of  a  given 
weight  (each  so  heavy  that  few  Englishmen  would  care  to 
carry  it  half  a  mile),  and  these  are  carried  by  the  coolies  on 
their  heads  for  many  a  weary  mile  over  hill  and  dale  to 
the  nearest  cart-road. 

The  dress  of  the  coolies  is  remarkable.  Some  indeed 
have  little  clothinc;  save   an  old  grain    sack  covering  the 

o  o  o 

head  and  shoulders,  and  affording  a  miserable  shelter  from 
the  pitiless  rain ;  but  the  majority  are  provided  with  an  old 
regimental  coat,  scarlet,  blue,  or  green,  no  matter  what 
colour.  So  this  is  the  final  destination  of  our  military  old 
clothes  !  I  think  their  original  wearers  would  scarcely  recog- 
nise their  trig  apparel  when  thus  seen  in  combination  with  a 
turbaned  head  and  lean  black  legs  swathed  in  dirty  linen. 

You  cannot  think  what  a  new  sensation  in  coffee  it  is 
to  go  and  rest  in  one  of  the  great  coffee  stores,  where  the 
clean,  dry  beans  are  piled  up  in  huge  heaps,  like  grain  in 
a  granary  at  home.  The  stores  come  in  useful  for  every- 
thing. All  manner  of  public  meetings,  from  church  services 
to  balls,  are  held  in  them,  and  coffee-bags  are  the  most 
orthodox  seat ;  rather  hard,  however  ;  for  comfort,  commend 
me  to  the  good  honest  coffee  heap,  on  which  many  a  tired 
planter  has  slept  without  a  sigh  for  spring  mattresses. 

On  that  same  day  (August  30),  at  Mahadova,  we  chanced 


A    ROMAN    CATHOLIC    PROCESSION.  45 

to  witness  another  strangly  characteristic  scene,  namely, 
what  the  Tamil  coolies  themselves  described  as  a  Catholic 
Saami  (i.e.,  idol)  festival.  This  was  a  Roman  Catholic  pro- 
cession, in  which,  however,  I  believe  all  the  coolies,  of  what- 
ever creed,  took  part.  We  heard  their  shouts  in  the  far 
distance,  and  presently  they  came  in  sight,  winding  down  a 
steep  path  through  the  coffee,  or  rather  winding  up  hill  and 
down  dale,  in  order  to  visit  all  the  Saami  houses  (i.e.,  idol 
shrines)  in  the  neighbourhood,  carrying  with  them  four 
almost  life-sized  images,  in  very  tall,  open  shrines,  which 
were  simply  canopies  on  poles,  painted  crimson  and  yellow. 
]\Iuch  the  largest  of  these,  shaped  like  a  gigantic  crown, 
contained  an  image  of  the  Blessed  Virgin ;  two  of  the  others 
contained  St.  Sebastian,  and  a  fourth  St.  Anthony.  All 
were  borne  on  platforms  on  men's  shoulders. 

With  the  exception  of  the  cross  on  the  top  of  each  shrine, 
and  of  innumerable  gaudy  banners,  there  was  nothing  what- 
ever to  indicate  that  this  was  not  a  Hindoo  festival,  accom- 
panied by  all  the  usual  adjuncts — the  firing  of  guns,  the 
beating  of  tomtoms,  and  wild  dancing  of  half-naked  brown 
men  with  white  turbans,  dancing  all  the  way,  precisely  as 
at  the  festivals  in  honour  of  their  gods,  and  led  by  the 
temple-dancers. 

When  they  had  visited  all  the  idol  shrines,  and  danced 
a  while  at  each,  they  were  to  halt  beside  a  stream,  where  all 
would  bathe,  preparatory  to  a  great  feast  of  curry  and  rice, 
after  which  dancing  was  to  be  resumed  by  torchlight. 

Often  when  I  hear  thoughtless  persons,  who  certainly 
cannot  have  looked  below  the  surface,  compare  the  results 
of  Protestant  and  lioman  Catholic  missions  in  heathen  lands, 
greatly  to  the  credit  of  the  latter,  I  wish  they  could  have  a 
few  opportunities  of  really  observing   the   radical   change 


46  BADULLA   AND    HAPUTALE. 

required  in  the  converts  of  the  former  as  compared  with  the 
mere  change  of  denomination  which  is  accepted  by  the  latter  in 
every  country  where  I  have  seen  the  working  of  both  missions. 
No  wonder  that  their  converts  are  numerically  large. 

In  Ceylon  we  were  told  of  one  Eoman  Catholic  chapel 
ill  which,  during  the  temporary  absence  of  the  priest,  the 
congregation  had  introduced  three  images  of  Buddha  and 
several  others;  and  we  ourselves  saw  a  small  Eoman  Catholic 
chapel  with  the  image  of  Buddha  on  one  side  and  that  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  on  the  other,  apparently  receiving  equal 
homage.  I  fancy,  however,  that  that  also  must  have  been 
without  the  leave  of  the  priest. 

The  curious  policy  of  seeking  to  beguile  heathen  nations 
into  accepting  a  spurious  so-called  Christianity  by  the 
closest  possible  assimilation  to  their  national  pagan  rites 
has  unfortunately  been  very  widely  sanctioned  by  the  Church 
of  Borne  in  all  ages,  but  nowhere  has  it  been  carried  to  such 
excess  as  in  Southern  India,  whence  these  Tamil  coolies  have 
immigrated. 

In  A.D.  1606,  with  the  full  sanction  of  the  Provincial  of 
the  Jesuits,  and  of  the  Archbishop  of  Goa,  a  Jesuit  priest, 
Eobert  de  Nobili,  established  himself  at  Madura,  where 
he  asserted  that  he  was  a  Brahman  of  the  West,  directly 
descended  from  Brahma,  and  of  the  highest  possible  caste. 

He  forged  a  sacred  Veda  purporting  to  be  of  high  anti- 
quity, iu  which  some  Christian  doctrines  were  cunningly 
blended  with  much  Hindoo  imagery.  In  presence  of  a 
large  assembly  of  Brahmaus  he  swore  to  having  received 
this  Esur  Veda  from  Brahma  himself. 

Tliis  Brahman  of  Eome  assumed  the  yellow  robe  of  the 
venerated  Saniassees,  and  daily  marked  on  his  forehead  the 
circular  spot  of  powdered  sandal-wood  which  denotes  caste. 


ROBERT    DE   NOBILI.  47 

His  small  crucifix,  hidden  in  his  waist-cloth,  was  suspended 
from  a  twisted  thread  very  similar  to  that  worn  by  Brahmans. 
He  carefully  performed  all  ceremonial  ablutions,  and  certainly 
shrank  from  no  self-denial  in  working  out  his  strange  com- 
promise, for  he  abjured  all  animal  food — meat,  fish,  and  even 
eggs,  confining  himself  to  the  vegetables,  milk,  and  clarified 
butter  which  is  the  fare  of  true  Brahmans. 

Moreover,  the  better  to  assert  his  superior  position,  and 
assuredly  forgetting  the  teaching  of  his  Master,  he  associated 
only  with  Brahmans,  feigning  the  utmost  contempt  for  all 
pariahs  and  other  low-caste  people. 

He  soon  obtained  credit  for  great  wisdom  and  sanctity, 
and  gained  so  many  adherents  that  he  is  said  to  have 
baptized  100,000  persons,  largely  drawn  from  the  higher 
castes — converts  who  naturally  were  not  to  be  distinguished 
from  their  heathen  brethren  in  aught  but  name. 

On  the  authority  of  his  forged  Veda,  he  prohibited  the 
worship  of  the  Hindoo  idols,  but  freely  incorporated  all  the 
processions  most  dear  to  the  people.  Amongst  others  he 
adopted  all  the  tumultuous  ceremonies  of  the  Juggernath 
night-festival,  when  huge  gaily- decorated  idol  cars  were 
borrowed  from  the  Tamil  temples.  So-called  Christian 
images  having  been  temporarily  substituted  for  those  of  the 
idols,  and  loaded  with  offerings  of  flowers,  the  ponderous 
cars  were  dragged  in  procession  by  excited  crowds,  amid  the 
blaze  of  rockets  and  fireworks,  the  din  of  tomtoms,  drums, 
and  trumpets,  and  the  acclamations  and  shouts  of  the 
people.  Half-naked  dancers  streaked  with  vermilion  and 
sandal-wood  powder  danced  wildly  before  the  cars,  and  all 
the  crowd  wore  on  their  foreheads  the  marks  symbolic  of 
idol- worship.  Yet  these,  with  the  exception  of  the  dancers 
and  musicians,  who  were  hired  from  the  nearest  heathen 


48  BADULLA    AND    HAPUTALE. 

temple,  were  the  so-called  Christians  of  Madura,  and  the 
images  borne  on  the  cars  were  supposed  to  represent  the 
Saviour,  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  the  Apostles. 

Franciscans,  Dominicans,  and  other  religious  orders  hav- 
ing complained  of  his  methods  of  carrying  out  mission- 
work,  the  matter  was  referred  to  Eome,  but  after  an  inquiry 
which  lasted  thirteen  years,  the  Pope  pronounced  a  decision 
which  practically  left  things  as  they  were,  even  approving 
the  wearing  of  the  Brahminical  thread  by  converts,  provided 
it  was  sprinkled  with  holy  water,  and  that  the  converts  were 
invested  with  it  by  a  Komish  priest.  They  might  also 
continue  to  mark  their  foreheads  with  ashes  of  sandal-wood, 
provided  they  abstained  from  using  ashes  of  cow-dung. 

Thus  sanctioned,  this  sham  Christianity  flourished,  till 
after  forty-two  years  of  vain  toil,  de  Nobili  retired,  sick 
at  heart,  and  his  followers  for  the  most  part  returned  to 
their  primitive  Hindooism. 

But  till  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  from  India  in  1759, 
there  was  no  limit  to  the  compromises  by  which  they  sought 
to  gain  nominal  converts. 

Not  content  with  attracting  the  heathen  to  their  churches 
by  elaborate  mystery-plays  and  theatrical  representations 
of  the  great  events  in  the  life  of  our  Lord,  these  very 
adaptive  teachers  endeavoured  to  appeal  to  popular  pre- 
judice by  blending  with  their  own  religious  ceremonials  all 
the  most  striking  pageants  of  Hindooism,  and,  notwith- 
standing all  the  edicts  of  Pope  Gregory  and  his  successors, 
these  were  retained  until,  in  1704,  Pope  Benedict  XIV. 
issued  a  most  rigorous  Bull  commanding  their  suppression. 

The  Jesuits  frankly  confessed  that  obedience  to  the 
Papal  decree  would  result  in  the  loss  of  most  of  their 
adherents,  and    so   it    proved.      Multitudes   to   whom   the 


FORESTS.  49 

adoption  of  Christianity  had  been  solely  a  change  of  name 
resumed  that  of  "  Hindoo,"  and  ere  long  the  stringent  regu- 
lation was  relaxed  and  the  pitiful  compromise  resumed. 

From  Mahadova  we  rode  to  various  other  estates,  some- 
times through  lovely  bits  of  ferny  jungle,  sometimes  across 
great  tracts  of  burnt  forest,  with  their  wreaths  of  blue 
smoke  still  curling  upwards  from  the  blackened  waste  which 
had  taken  the  place  of  all  the  fair  vegetation,  the  growth 
of  centuries. 

To  all  lovers  of  beautiful  nature  it  must  be  sad  to  think 
of  the  hundreds  of  square  miles  of  primeval  forest  which 
have  thus  been  totally  destroyed  in  clearing  ground  for  the 
growth  of  coffee,  cinchona,  and  tea,  in  all  the  mountain  dis- 
tricts, the  greater  part  of  the  belt  of  the  Isle  between  the 
altitudes  of  3000  to  5000  feet  being  now  totally  denuded. 

But  looking  down  from  high  mountains  on  the  great 
plains  seaward,  we  still  overlook  vast  expanses  of  forests — 
in  fact,  about  three-fourths  of  the  eastern  lowlands  are  said 
to  be  still  forest  or  scrubby  jungle,  from  which  the  fine 
timber  has  all  been  cleared  for  commercial  purposes.  Till 
quite  recently  there  was  no  fully  organised  Forest  De- 
partment to  regulate  the  ravages  of  the  woodcutters,  and 
certainly  no  sentimental  pity  or  reverence  led  these  to 
spare  either  the  monarchs  of  the  forest  or  the  trees  of 
tender  years ;  consequently  many  of  those  most  valued 
for  the  beauty  of  their  timber  have  now  become  exceedingly 
rare. 

The  necessity  for  such  supervision  was  recognised  so  far 
back  as  1858,  when  Sir  Henry  Ward  appointed  my  brother 
to  act  as  timber  and  chena  inspector.  But  in  those  days 
travel  M'as  exceedingly  dillicult,  and  no  man  could  really 
attempt  to  do  more  than  make  himself  acquainted  with  the 

VOL.  II.  D 


50  BADULLA   AND   HAPUTALE. 

forests  of  liis  own  province,  which  in  my  brother's  case 
meant  the  neighbourhood  of  Batticaloa.  Moreover,  as  his 
sole  assistants  were  two  Government  peons,  it  was  evident 
that,  keenly  interested  as  he  was  in  this  work,  he  could  not 
do  very  much. 

It  was  not  till  1873  that  Sir  William  Gregory  laid  the 
foundation  of  a  more  systematic  conservancy  of  forests  by 
the  appointment  of  four  foresters  for  the  four  northern  pro- 
vinces, and  assistants  for  other  districts,  whose  duties  include 
not  merely  checking  improvident  destruction  of  existing 
timber,  but  also  establishing  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
great  tanks,  nurseries  for  valuable  forest  trees. 

My  brother's  appointment  as  chena  inspector  refers  to 
the  singular  method  of  cultivation  known  as  "  chena-farm- 
ing,"  which  is  a  system  of  nomadic  farming  involving  per- 
petual locomotion,  inasmuch  as,  owing  to  the  poverty  of  the 
soil,  the  same  ground  is  never  occupied  for  more  than  two 
years  at  a  time,  and  is  then  left  to  itself  for  fifteen  years  ! 
This  strange  custom  has  been  adhered  to  for  upwards  of 
two  thousand  years,  so  it  follows  that  "  primeval  forests  " 
had  been  cleared  off  the  plains  long  before  European  planters 
felled  those  on  the  mountains.  The  extent  of  ground 
which  has  been  subject  to  this  treatment  is  enormous. 

The  process  of  chena-farming  is  that  the  inhabitants  of 
a  district  proceed  to  fell  and  burn  a  tract  of  two  or  three 
hundred  acres  of  forest.  This  space  is  then  fenced  and 
apportioned  to  the  number  of  families  concerned,  each  of 
whom  erects  a  temporary  hut.  In  these  they  live  in  a  cheery 
sort  of  gipsy  fashion,  some  making  and  baking  earthenware 
vessels,  and  others  spinning  thread  or  rearing  poultry,  while 
waiting  for  the  growth  of  the  crops  they  have  sown. 

In  a  few  months  the  newly  reclaimed  land  is  rich  with 


CHENA    FARMING.  61 

cotton  plants,  sugar-cane,  Indian-corn,  pumpkins,  sweet 
potatoes,  millet,  yams,  melons,  and  other  vegetables.  Some 
of  these  are  ready  for  the  market  within  four  months ;  so 
they  are  gathered,  and  fresh  seed  is  sown  for  a  second  crop, 
wliich  is  ready  four  months  later,  the  cultivators  all  the 
while  keeping  sentinels  posted  in  little  huts,  ceaselessly 
watching  day  and  night  to  ward  off  incursions  from  thievish 
beasts  and  birds. 

In  the  second  year  the  company  divides,  some  remaining 
to  guard  and  gather  the  cotton,  which  does  not  come  to 
maturity  for  two  years,  the  others  proceeding  to  clear  new 
ground  by  felling  and  burning  more  forest.  When  the 
cotton  crop  is  gathered,  then  the  last  farm  is  abandoned, 
and  luxuriant  natural  growths  rapidly  spring  up. 

A  good  deal  of  chena  is  devoted  to  the  growth  of  plan- 
tains, which  are  very  fine  the  first  year,  but  deteriorate  so 
much  in  the  second  year,  that  by  the  third  they  are  gene- 
rally abandoned. 

A  marked  characteristic  of  all  land  which  has  been  thus 
suffered  to  relapse  is  the  density  of  the  thorny  jungle,  with 
few,  if  any,  large  trees,  but  a  thick  matting  of  rope-like 
creepers,  many  of  which,  and  of  the  bushes,  are  armed  witli 
wicked  hooked  thorns  of  every  variety,  making  the  scrub 
impassable  to  any  creature  but  an  elephant. 

Masses  of  prickly  cactus  grow  luxuriantly  on  such  clear- 
ings, us  does  also  the  much-reviled  lantana,  which  was 
introduced  only  about  sixty  years  ago,  solely  as  an  orna- 
mental shrub.  It  is  uncertain  whether  it  was  brought  from 
Drazil  by  Sir  Hudson  Lowe  or  from  the  West  Indies  by 
Lady  Horton.  Its  original  home  is  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  where,  however,  it  is  by  no  means  so  rampant 
as  in  these  lands  of   its  adoption.     It  is  a  pretty  plant, 


52  BADULLA    AND    HAPUTALE. 

covered  with  little  bunches  of  orange  and  rose-coloured 
flowers  or  small  dark  berries ;  the  latter  find  great 
favour  with  birds,  who  carry  the  seed  in  every  direction, 
and  it  has  acclimatised  to  such  good  purpose,  that  now  it 
springs  up  unbidden  on  every  morsel  of  neglected  land,  so 
that  from  the  sea-level  up  to  a  height  of  3000  feet,  thousands 
of  acres  are  covered  with  impenetrable  thickets  of  this  too 
luxuriant  colonist.  Naturally  all  cultivators  consider  it  an 
intolerable  nuisance,  and  rue  the  day  of  its  introduction  to 
Ceylon ;  but  nevertheless  the  lantana  has  its  own  useful 
mission  to  perform,  in  securing  for  the  land  both  shade  and 
moisture,  while  by  the  ceaseless  decay  of  its  rich  foliage  it 
gives  new  life  to  the  worn-out  soil,  preparing  it  afresh  for 
the  service  of  ungrateful  humanity. 

Since  Government  has  awakened  to  the  necessity  of 
guarding  the  remaining  forests,  this  chena-cultivation  is 
under  control  of  surveyors,  and  the  sanction  of  the  Govern- 
ment Agent  is  required  before  a  new  tract  can  be  thus 
treated  ;  so  the  villagers  are  gradually  learning  to  grow  their 
vegetables  on  more  economic  principles. 

Leaving  the  mountainous  region,  we  travelled  north-east 
across  that  known  as  the  Park  Country,  on  which  we  had 
looked  down  from  the  high  grounds — a  great  tract  partly 
of  forest,  partly  of  open  grass  country  and  of  swampy  rice- 
lands,  but  all  intersected  by  very  picturesque  hill  ranges. 

Until  very  recently,  all  this  district  abounded  with  game 
of  all  sorts,  which,  however,  has  been  so  ruthlessly  slaugh- 
tered, that  it  is  now  said  to  be,  practically  speaking,  exter- 
minated. There  are  still  large  herds  of  spotted  deer  and  a 
good  many  of  the  Sambur  deer— here  called  elk — but  very 
few  compared  with  even  ten  years  ago.  A  close  season  has 
been  appointed  for  the  preservation  of  all  manner  of  deer 


EXTERMINATION    OF    GAME.  53 

and  other  useful  and  beautiful  animals,  but  this  ordinance 
is  apparently  respected  only  by  Europeans,  and  not  invari- 
ably by  them.  As  to  the  natives,  they  harry  the  poor  wild 
tribes  day  and  night,  in  season  and  out  of  season,  large 
parties  with  guns,  dogs,  and  nets  lying  in  wait  at  the  water- 
holes  and  tanks  where  they  must  come  to  drink,  so  that 
the  poor  beasts  have  no  chance. 

A  Ceylon  paper  for  July  1891  quotes  advertisements 
showing  that  "  27,453  Ceylon  elk  hides  "  had  been  offered 
for  sale  in  London  since  January,  and,  while  discrediting 
the  figures,  comments  on  the  ruthless  wholesale  slaughter 
which  is  undoubtedly  carried  on  all  the  year  round.  It 
seems  probable  that  here,  as  in  the  United  States,  the  wild 
creatures  are  destined  to  be  exterminated,  and  eventually 
replaced  by  more  prosaic  herds  of  domesticated  animals — 
cattle,  sheep,  and  horses — who  would  doubtless  thrive  in  this 
grassy  and  well-timbered  region,  all  of  which  is  apparently 
admirably  adapted  for  pastoral  purposes. 

A  minor  drawback  to  these  grassy  plains  in  dry  weather 
are  the  innumerable  "  ticks,"  which  swarm  in  some  places. 
Tliese  scarcely  visible  black  atoms  get  on  to  one's  clothes, 
and  continue  their  travels  till  they  succeed  in  burying  their 
heads  in  one's  skin,  the  sensation  of  the  victim  being  that 
of  being  pricked  with  a  red-hot  needle.  Any  attempt  to 
pluck  them  out  only  produces  irritation,  so  it  is  best  to 
leave  these  unwelcome  guests  in  peace  till  you  can  touch 
them  with  a  drop  of  oil,  when  they  relax  their  hold.  (The 
natives  always  have  cocoa-nut  oil  at  hand  to  anoint  their 
hair,  and  oh  !  the  aroma  thereof.)  There  is  a  larger  variety 
of  this  pest  called  the  buftulo,  but  its  bite  is  not  nearly  so 
painful  as  that  of  its  minute  cousin.  One  comfort  of  rainy 
weather  is  that  these  creatures  then  disappear. 


54  BADULLA    AND    HAPUTALK. 

One  very  annoying  family  are  the  innumerable  minute 
"  eye-flies,"  which  take  pleasure  in  dancing  as  close  as 
possible  to  one's  eyes,  as  if  they  really  found  pleasure  in 
beholding  themselves  mirrored  therein. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  after  a  while  the  daily  routine 
of  marching  is  apt  to  become  somewhat  tedious,  almost 
every  morning  having  to  be  up  soon  after  5  a.m.  packing, 
swallowing  a  hurried  breakfast,  and  then  starting  on  a 
march  which  rarely  exceeds  twelve  or  fourteen  miles,  but 
which  is  necessarily  so  slow  that  it  is  probably  past  ten 
before  you  reach  your  destination,  by  which  time  the  sun 
is  pouring  down  in  scorching  heat,  and  you  are  thankful 
indeed  for  the  shadow  of  the  palm-leaf  hut,  or  any  other 
rough  and  ready  rest-house. 

Half  the  coolies  always  march  at  night,  starting  as  soon 
as  you  have  dined,  and  the  cook  and  table-servant  can  get 
the  cooking  pots  and  dishes  packed  ;  so  that  you  find  your 
real  breakfast  ready  on  arriving,  and  right  welcome  it  is.  By 
the  time  you  have  fed  and  washed,  you  are  so  tired  that  you 
generally  are  thankful  for  an  hour's  sleep,  that  you  may  be 
fresh  for  the  afternoon's  work  or  ramble,  as  the  case  may  be. 

Day  by  day,  riding  or  driving,  we  moved  from  point  to 
point.  One  pretty  drive  lay  through  most  charming  jungle, 
literally  swarming  with  butterflies.  We  had  to  cross  the 
Maha-Oya  just  at  its  junction  with  the  Dambera-Oya. 
A  fine  wide  river-bed  overshadowed  by  large  trees  suggested 
what  this  stream  must  be  when  swollen  by  heavy  rains 
in  the  mountains,  but  now  all  was  drought,  and  there  was 
not  even  a  trickle  of  water.  We  walked  across  the  sandy 
channel,  while  the  horses  dragged  the  empty  carriage,  and 
a  well-trained  elephant,  who  was  assisting  in  building  a 
bridge  for  the  use  of  future  travellers,  lent  his  great  strength 


PECULIAR  BARK  AND  HOOTS.  65 

to  shove  the  baggage-carts  while  the  patient  bullocks  pulled 
them  across. 

I  was  struck  here,  as  in  many  another  district  in  the 
hot  plains,  with  two  peculiar  characteristics  of  several  of 
the  principal  trees.  One  is  the  thinness  of  their  bark,  as 
though  Mother  Nature  knew  they  would  only  require 
summer  coats ;  the  other  is  the  extraordinary  size  and 
height  of  their  massive  roots,  which  are  thrown  out  on  every 
side  like  buttresses,  evidently  to  enable  the  tree  to  resist 
the  rushing  of  floods.  These  buttresses  are  so  high  that 
full-grown  men  could  stand  in  one  compartment  unseen 
by  their  neighbours  in  the  next  division. 

We  had  slept  the  two  previous  nights  in  miserable  rest- 
houses,  so  it  was  delightful  to  find  this  night's  quarters 
at  Pulawella  in  a  clean  new  house,  cosily  placed  in  a 
patch  of  quiet  jungle  with  peaceful  meadows  on  either  side. 

On  the  following  day  we  found  equally  pleasant  quarters 
at  Eugam,  near  the  Eugam  tank,  to  which  we  were  escorted 
by  a  fine  old  village  headman,  who  remembered  my  brother 
vividly,  as  did  also  all  the  villagers,  by  whom,  said  the 
old  chief,  he  was  immensely  loved.  They  said  he  often 
came  here  at  night  for  sport  in  the  days  when  the  long- 
neglected  lake  lay  undisturbed  in  the  silent  forest  and  game 
of  all  sorts  abounded. 

At  the  time  of  our  visit  the  tank  was  being  restored, 
so  we  saw  no  large  animals,  only  a  goodly  family  of  croco- 
diles, and  many  radiant  birds — oriole,  barbet,  kingfisher, 
&c.  The  officer  in  charge  of  the  works  was  rejoiced  to 
see  white  faces,  the  first  he  had  seen  for  two  months. 
He  bade  a  fisher  cast  his  net  in  the  now  clear  waters,  and 
each  cast  enclosed  a  multitude  of  fishes,  which  we  carried 
back  for  the  use  of  the  whole  party. 


oG 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

SOME    PAGES    FROM    A    BROTHER'S    DIARY. 

During  his  eighteen  years'  residence  in  Ceylon,  until  his 
death,  October  6,  1865,  John  Eandolph  Gordon  Gumming 
kept  regular  diaries  full  of  most  interesting  notes  on  natural 
history  and  sport,  as  were  also  his  numerous  letters  to  the 
old  home.  By  some  lamentable  accident,  the  whole  of  these 
have  been  lost  or  destroyed,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
pages  of  an  early  journal  and  half-a-dozen  letters — by  no 
means  the  most  interesting,  being  chiefly  on  business. 
Nevertheless,  as  no  word  from  his  pen  has  ever  been  pub- 
lished, I  here  quote  a  few  passages  from  these,  to  show 
how  worthily  he  filled  his  place  as  one  of  the  race  of 
Nimrods — the  brothers  who  were  all  born  sportsmen. 

"July  6ih,  184-8. — Batticaloa. — On  the  4th  inst.  I  slept 
at  Terricoil,  where  there  is  a  large  temple.  On  tlie  follow- 
ing morning  I  met  five  Moormen,  one  of  whom  told  me 
that  a  leopard  had  entered  their  village  the  night  before, 
and  had  so  alarmed  his  bullocks,  which  were  confined  in 
a  kraal  close  to  his  house,  that  they  broke  loose  and  ran 
away  in  all  directions.  Next  morning  he  found  one  of  the 
finest  killed  and  partly  devoured  in  the  centre  of  a  large 
plain  across  which  I  would  have  to  pass.      I  rode  on,  and 


A    NIGHT    WATCH.  57 

found  his  words  verified.  On  examining  the  ground,  I  saw 
that  there  had  evidently  been  a  desperate  struggle,  the 
chetah  ^  having  twice  thrown  the  bullock  ere  he  killed 
him. 

"  j\Iy  first  consideration  was  how  best  to  conceal  myself 
for  a  shot  at  the  spoiler,  in  case  he  should  return  to  feast 
on  his  prey.  This  was  no  easy  matter,  on  account  of  the 
nature  of  the  ground.  Fortunately  there  was  one  small 
bush  within  thirty  yards  of  the  spot ;  this  I  enlarged  with 
the  help  of  some  fresh  branches  from  the  neiglibouring 
jungle,  forming  a  very  natural-looking  crescent,  which  would 
effectually  conceal  several  men  when  once  fairly  settled  down 
in  it. 

"  I  then  sent  for  some  villagers  to  drag  the  bullock  within 
range  of  my  ambuscade.  The  moon  being  in  her  first 
([uarter  and  very  hazy,  I  was  obliged  to  take  a  very  near 
shot,  and,  to  the  horror  of  the  Moormen,  made  them  place 
it  within  nine  yards  of  the  bush,  exactly  between  me  and 
the  nearest  point  of  the  jungle. 

"  A  few  minutes  before  sunset  I  took  my  seat,  in  com- 
pany with  three  other  men  who  were  anxious  to  see  the 
sport.  We  expected  that,  according  to  custon),  the  chetah 
would  make  his  appearance  immediately  after  dark,  and 
we  were  not  disappointed.  Half-an-liour  after  we  were 
fairly  settled,  the  sudden  retreat  of  a  number  of  wild 
hogs  and  jackals  warned  us  of  his  approach,  and  a  few 
minutes  after  I  could  just  discern  him  through  the  dark- 
ness, crawling  up  stealthily  with  his  belly  to  the  earth, 
like  an  enormous  cat. 

"The  light  was  so  bad  that  T  did  not  dare  to  fire.     After 

^  Leopards  in  Ceylon  are  liabitually  miscalled  "chetah."  See  vol.  i. 
p.  237. 


o8  SOME    PAGES    VlUni    A    JlROTHER  S    DIARY. 

lickin'4  lliG  llesli  two  or  three  times,  lie  retreated  out  of 
sight  iu  the  darkness ;  presently  he  returned,  but  unfor- 
tunately got  the  wind  of  us,  and  after  growling  most 
savagely  for  ten  minutes,  vanished  for  the  night — so  at 
least  I  was  told  by  one  of  the  men,  an  old  hand,  who 
added  that  if  he  did  return,  he  would  examine  our  hiding- 
place  carefully.  So  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  depart 
in  disgust.  Eeturning  to  the  spot  the  following  morning,  I 
found  that  the  chetah  had  returned,  and  polished  off  the 
best  part  of  the  carcase,  not,  however,  before  making  a 
careful  survey  of  the  bush,  as  the  tracks  proved. 

"  As  there  was  still  a  chance  of  his  coming  back  the 
following  night,  I  determined  to  take  it  and  fire  on  him  at 
any  risk,  whether  the  light  were  good  or  bad.  I  had,  how- 
ever, a  long  day  before  me,  and  spent  it  examining  different 
holes  and  dens  of  bears  and  chetahs  in  the  forest,  without 
success,  although  several  of  them  bore  marks  of  very  recent 
visits  from  both  parties.  Came  on  a  small  herd  of  elephants, 
and  shot  two,  right  and  left. 

"At  sunset  I  again  retreated  to  my  hiding-place  in  company 
with  my  former  attendants,  my  hunter  and  two  Moormen. 
On  our  arrival  at  the  ground,  we  found  it  already  occupied 
by  upwards  of  thirty  pariah  or  village  dogs,  and  as  they  set 
us  completely  at  defiance,  we  allowed  them  to  feast  at  their 
leisure.  They  went  on  very  quietly  for  some  time,  till  a 
herd  of  wild  hog,  including  three  large  boars,  came  forward, 
determined  to  dispute  the  field  with  them.  A  most  exciting 
scene  followed,  the  dogs  ranged  on  one  side  of  the  carcase 
and  the  pigs  on  the  other,  neither  party  daring  to  put  a  nose 
on  the  meat.  Every  now  and  then  a  boar  made  a  rush 
forward,  only  to  be  driven  back  in  double-quick  time  by 
the  doers. 


BAGGING    TWO    LEOPARDS.  59 

"  Suddenly  the  scene  changed ;  the  dogs  beating  a  hasty- 
retreat  and  the  pigs  moving  off  to  a  respectful  distance, 
again  warned  nie  of  the  approach  of  my  game.  A  few 
minutes  afterwards  I  discovered  him  crawling  up  in  the 
darkness.  The  moon  was  cloudy,  but  I  had  determined  to 
fire  upon  him  at  any  risk ;  so  the  moment  his  nose  touched 
the  carcase,  I  did  so.  The  report  was  followed  by  most 
fearful  roars  and  growling,  but  the  smoke  coming  back  in 
my  face  prevented  me  from  seeing  the  actual  result.  On 
turning  round  to  spring  out  of  the  bush  to  take  a  second 
shot,  I  found  that  my  attendants  had  fled,  taking  with  them 
my  spare  gun  and  pistol ! 

"  The  smoke  having  dispersed,  I  saw  that  the  chetah  was 
gone,  but  my  followers  coming  up  a  few  minutes  afterwards, 
consoled  me  by  telling  me  that  he  was  mortally  wounded, 
otherwise  he  would  have  sprung  forwards,  and  that  we  would 
find  him  the  following  morning  within  a  short  distance  of 
the  place.  Tliis  proved  to  be  the  case.  Eeturning  at  dawn, 
we  found  him  stiff  and  cold  within  two  hundred  yards  of 
the  spot.  He  turned  out  to  be  a  full-grown  male ;  the  ball, 
entering  the  neck  a  little  behind  the  ear,  had  passed  through 
the  whole  lenL;th  of  the  body. 

"  Ileturning  home,  I  found  that  a  bullock  had  been  killed 
by  two  chetahs  the  night  before.  I  tracked  and  shot  one 
of  them,  a  fine  male." 

"  Odohcr  lOth,  1848.— Crossed  the  lake  to  Nathany.  Pro- 
ceeded to  Narvalgennie,  and  went  out  bear-shooting  with 
hunting-buffaloes.  Sliot  one  bear  mortally,  but  did  not 
bag  him  owing  to  the  darkness.  I  found  him  sitting  at 
the  side  of  a  small  tank  in  the  middle  of  an  old  chena 
farm ;    we   immediately   tacked  up  towards  him   with    the 


GO  SOMK    PAGES    FROM    A    BROTHKIl's    DIARY. 

buffaloes,  but  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  ground  we  could 
not  get  within  thirty  yards,  so  at  that  distance  we  lay  down 
to  watch  his  actions. 

"  The  bear,  apparently  wondering  wliat  we  were  about, 
approached  to  within  twenty  yards  of  us,  and  then  sat 
down.  The  buffaloes  began  to  snort  and  toss  up  their 
heads.  I  took  a  hasty  shot  at  his  head  and  missed,  the 
light  being  bad.  As  he  continued  to  advance  sideways, 
I  fired  my  second  barrel,  aiming  behind  his  shoulder. 
The  ball  told  well,  as  he  rolled  heels  over  head,  roaring 
and  groaning.      (Poor  brute  !) 

"  Before  a  second  gun  could  be  put  into  my  hands,  he 
had  disappeared  in  the  darkness,  and  I  saw  him  no  more. 
On  the  bear's  giving  vent  to  his  feelings,  the  men  lost 
all  restraint  over  the  buffaloes  ;  they  tore  up  to  the  spot, 
apparently  bent  upon  annihilating  the  unfortunate  brute, 
and  were  as  much  disgusted  at  his  escape  as  I  was 
myself." 

"  October  XMli,  1848. — Charvelacaddi,  near  Batlicaloa. — 
Two  nights  ago,  just  before  sunset,  a  leopard  knocked  over 
a  buffalo  beside  the  jungle,  in  an  old  chena  close  to  the 
village  above  named.  The  herd,  on  hearing  the  noise  made 
by  their  imfortunate  companion,  dashed  up  to  the  spot  in  a 
body,  doubtless  hoping  to  polish  off  the  cat  by  goring  him 
with  their  horns.  He,  finding  himself  hard  pressed,  first 
sprang  up  into  a  tree,  but  as  the  buffaloes  continued  to 
butt  it  and  plough  up  the  ground  around  it,  he  made  a 
bound  over  their  heads  and  dashed  into  the  jungle. 

"  The  chetali  had  broken  the  neck  of  the  buffalo,  but 
apparently  had  not  tasted  blood,  for  he  did  not  return  tliat 
night   to  his   feast.     Next  evening,  however,  passing  that 


SUNDRY    LEOPARDS.  61 

way  oil  his  rounds,  he  carried  the  carcase  into  the  thick 
jungle  and  devoured  about  one-half.  I  lay  in  wait  for  him 
next  day,  but  he  did  not  return.  The  meat  was  evidently 
too  ganiey  for  his  taste,  as,  instead  of  eating  it  limb  by 
limb,  according  to  custom,  he  had  only  selected  the  daintiest 
bits.  This,  I  find,  is  a  sure  sign  that  a  leopard  will  not 
return  to  his  quarry." 

"  Novertiber  29t/t,  1848. — A  farmer  in  this  neighbourhood 
sent  a  herd  of  goats  to  feed  on  a  small  peninsula.  A  chetah 
getting  wind  of  them,  swam  over  from  the  mainland,  and 
laid  himself  up  for  the  day  in  a  small  patch  of  jungle. 
The  herdsman  having  discovered  him,  reported  the  matter 
to  his  master,  who  immediately  collected  a  party  with  guns 
and  spears  in  order  to  dislodge  the  enemy.  They  hastened 
to  the  spot,  taking  the  herdsman  as  their  guide. 

"  The  poor  fellow,  being  more  bold  than  prudent,  went  up 
to  the  chetah's  place  of  ambush,  and  while  he  was  in  the 
act  of  pointing  out  the  direction  of  its  head,  the  brute 
sprang  upon  his  shoulder,  sending  him  heels  over  head 
into  the  shallow  water.  The  man  regained  his  legs,  and 
staggered  forward  a  few  paces,  the  chetah  still  holding  on, 
and  then  both  rolled  over  into  the  deep  water. 

"  The  cat  not  relishing  the  cold  bath,  let  go  his  hold  and 
bolted  back  into  the  jungle.  The  other  men,  on  going  up 
to  tlieir  companion,  found  his  back  much  cut  and  torn,  and 
in  their  anxiety  to  convey  him  home  and  have  his  wounds 
dressed,  they  forgot  all  about  the  leopard,  who  took  advan- 
tage of  their  absence  to  leave  the  peninsula. 

"  That  same  evening  a  chetah  having  killed  a  bullock  at 
Kalarr,  two  men  tied  a  seat  in  a  tree  and  lay  in  wait  to 
shoot  him.      On  the  enemy  making  his  appearance  a  little 


62  SOMK    PAGES    FROM    A    BROTHERS    DIARY. 

after  nightfall,  they  fired  at  him,  whereupon  he  bolted  into 
the  jungle.  The  following  morning,  on  examining  the  place, 
they  found  drops  of  blood,  and  followed  up  the  trail,  which 
led  them  into  the  middle  of  a  thick  rattan  jungle.  While 
they  were  busily  engaged  in  examining  the  ground,  the 
chetah  sprang  upon  one  man,  and  with  one  stroke  of  his 
paw  knocked  out  his  left  eye,  at  the  same  time  taking  off 
one  half  of  his  nose.      He  then  disappeared. 

"  This  morning  the  coolies  killed  a  rock-snake  fifteen  feet 
long.  His  body  was  all  scarred  by  the  protrusion  of  the 
horns  and  bones  of  different  animals  which  the  reptile  had 
swallowed  in  the  course  of  his  lifetime.  These  snakes  are 
rarely  seen  by  day,  but  come  out  at  night  in  search  of  prey, 
and  seize  any  animal  they  can,  even  a  deer.  Coiling  round 
him,  they  crush  him,  lick  him  into  a  shape  convenient  for 
swallowing  whole,  and  eventually  disgorge  his  bones. 

"December  lOth. — Eather  a  curious  thing  happened  the 
other  day.  A  leopard  struck  down  a  young  buffalo,^  and 
while  dragging  it  off  to  thick  jungle  was  attacked  by  the 
mother.  The  poor  beast,  in  her  zeal  to  defend  her  calf, 
missed  the  cat  and  stuck  her  horns  several  times  through 
her  own  calf,  the  leopard  meanwhile  disappearing  into  the 
jungle,  doubtless  with  the  intention  of  returning  to  feast  at 
leisure  after  dark. 

"  Another  chetah  having  struck  down  a  buffalo,  thp  herd, 
hearing  the  noise,  dashed  up  to  the  spot.      The  cat  finding 

^  The  Ceylon  buffalo  is  a  large,  clumsily-built,  very  strong  animal,  with 
black,  shining,  leathery  skin,  and  scarcely  any  hair.  It  carries  its  head  hori- 
zontally, nose  forward,  so  that  its  large,  ribbed,  heavy  horns  bend  backwards, 
resting  on  the  shoulders,  and  it  makes  good  use  of  them  both  for  defence  and 
to  attack  man  or  beast,  so  it  is  by  no  means  an  enemy  to  be  despised  by  man 
or  leopard. 


A    BAlTLli    FUR    LIFE.  63 

himself  hard  pressed,  bolted  up  a  tree.  Some  labourers 
who  were  at  work  in  a  neighbouring  paddy-field  saw  the 
commotion  among  the  cattle  and  ran  to  the  spot.  As  soon 
as  the  chetah  found  their  eyes  fixed  upon  him,  he  bounded 
over  their  heads  and  bolted  into  the  thicket. 

"  December  Ibth,  1848. — I  went  last  week  to  Karativoe,  and 
the  headman  of  Pantroup,  a  neighbouring  village,  sent  me 
word  that  a  chetah  had  killed  a  buffalo  there  the  previous 
night.  I  ordered  my  horse  and  rode  off  post-haste,  but  did 
not  reach  the  spot  till  an  hour  before  sunset.  I  found  the 
carcase,  which  was  that  of  an  old  bull,  half-way  between  the 
village  aud  the  sea. 

"  The  soil  being  light  and  sandy,  aud  rain  having  fallen  on 
the  previous  night,  I  had  a  famous  opportunity  of  observing 
the  manner  in  which  the  leopard  had  waylaid  and  secured 
his  prey.  So  distinct  indeed  were  the  tracks,  that  I  could 
almost  i'ancy  I  saw  the  monster  taking  the  spring.  They 
had  met  on  a  jungle  path  ;  the  buffalo,  of  course  unconscious 
of  danger,  had  approached  at  a  steady  pace,  stopping  occasion- 
ally to  crop  the  herbage.  The  chetah,  on  the  other  hand, 
having  winded  his  game  from  a  distance,  had  crawled  along, 
xentre-(i-terre,  trying  the  stunted  bushes  on  either  side  of 
the  path,  till  at  length  he  got  himself  comfortably  lodged  in  the 
middle  of  a  low  thick  bush  commanding  an  angle  of  the  path. 

"Thence  he  had  sprung,  and  I  could  actually  see  the 
marks  of  his  tail  lashing  the  sand  preparatory  to  so  doing. 
The  buffalo  on  receiving  the  shock  had  staggered  forward  a 
few  paces  and  then  fallen  heavily  to  the  ground.  He  was 
unable  to  regain  his  leet,  and  the  struggle  had  evidently 
been  a  desperate  one,  the  ground  being  literally  ploughed  up 
and  branches  of  a  larire  size  broken. 


6i  SOME    PAGES    FROM    A    BROTHER'S    DIARY. 

"  The  chetali  having  only  sucked  the  blood  of  his  vicLira, 
I  knew  froTu  former  experience  that  he  would  return  early 
in  the  night  to  make  a  meal,  and  as  the  day  was  so  far 
advanced,  I  had  little  time  to  form  plans  or  take  precautions 
in  self-defence,  and  the  jungle  was  so  low  that  I  could  only 
fire  at  him  from  the  ground.  Hastily  shaping  out  a  seat 
in  the  middle  of  a  bush  within  twelve  yards  of  the  carcase, 
I  made  a  screen  all  round  with  live  branches,  which  would 
effectually  conceal  me  and  at  the  same  time  look  quite 
natural  to  the  eye.  I  then  loaded  my  guns,  and  ensconced 
myself  with  my  attendant  in  the  bush. 

"  Just  as  the  sun  was  setting,  we  heard  a  distant  snorting 
like  that  of  a  horse,  only  rougher.  The  sound  approached 
nearer  and  nearer,  and  a  minute  afterwards  the  head  and 
shoulders  of  the  magnificent  brute  appeared  through  an 
opening  in  the  jungle,  within  thirty  yards  of  us.  Although 
I  had  judged  from  his  track  and  the  strength  of  the  buffalo 
he  had  laid  low  that  he  was  one  of  unusual  size,  I  was 
quite  unprepared  for  such  a  grand  sight ;  in  truth,  he 
reminded  me  of  a  diminutive  prize-ox  at  a  cattle-show — 
such  a  breadth  of  chest  and  shoulder, 

"  I  took  aim  several  times,  but  judging  from  the  immense 
size  of  his  limbs  and  muscles  how  little  effect  a  ball  could 
have  unless  it  struck  a  vital  part,  I  reserved  my  fire  for  a 
more  convenient  season.  He  continued  sitting  in  sight, 
snorting  for  more  than  five  minutes,  and  then  turned  round, 
and  with  a  growl  disappeared  in  the  jungle. 

"  The  sun  had  by  this  time  gone  down,  and  we  lay  for 
fully  two  hours  without  either  hearing  or  seeing  anything 
of  the  enemy.  We  watched  the  rise  of  the  lovely  full  moon 
and  the  proceedings  of  a  pack  of  jackals  which  had  been 
prowling  about  when  we  first  came  to  the  ground.     These 


THE    DIGNITY    OF    LEISURE.  65 

became  emboldened  by  the  long  absence  of  the  chetah,  and 
began  to  approach  the  carcase,  keeping  a  good  look-out, 
however,  in  the  direction  from  which  they  expected  he 
would  come.  Every  now  and  then  one  of  them  would 
summon  up  pluck  to  give  a  tug  at  the  buffalo,  letting  go 
his  hold  again  as  quickly  as  if  it  were  hot  iron,  and  then 
running  off  to  a  distance,  would  sit  down  nervously. 

"  At  length  we  heard  distant  growling,  which,  of  course, 
put  us  on  the  alert.  As  for  the  jackals,  they  disappeared 
in  a  twinkling.  The  growling  grew  louder  and  louder,  till 
at  length  the  very  air  seemed  to  shake,  and  presently  the 
head  and  shoulders  reappeared  at  the  same  place  as  before. 
Then  the  beautiful  beast  sat  in  silence  for  more  than  half 
an  hour  in  all  the  dignity  of  leisure,  as  if  wishing  to  make 
sure  that  the  coast  was  clear.  Then,  apparently  suspecting 
danger,  though  he  could  not  possibly  have  winded  us,  he 
rose  and  recommenced  growling  as  if  in  defiance.  After 
standing  thus  for  several  minutes,  he  turned  round  and 
disappeared. 

"  We  listened  to  his  growling  till  at  length  the  sound 
was  fairly  lost  in  the  distance.  The  raosquitos  had  feasted 
upon  me  so  long  and  earnestly  that  I  had  grown  callous 
to  their  attentions,  and  I  was  so  weary  that  I  was  just 
dropping  off  to  sleep,  when  my  attendant  silently  touched 
my  shoulder.  Listening  intently,  I  again  heard  the  sweet 
melody,  although  at  a  great  distance  and  in  an  opposite 
direction  from  that  in  which  we  had  last  heard  it. 

"  This  time  he  appeared  to  have  made  up  his  mind,  as 
immediately  on  arriving  at  the  opening  he  walked  up  to 
within  a  few  paces  of  the  carcase  and  sat  down.  All  on  a 
sudden  it  apparently  occurred  to  him  that  it  would  be  as 
well   to  reconnoitre  the  neighbourhood   once   more   before 

VOL.  II.  E 


66  SOME    PAGES    FROM    A    BROTHERS    DIARY. 

commencing  supper,  for  he  rose  and  walked  forward  a  few 
paces  in  the  direction  of  our  liiding-place. 

"  I  saw  that  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost,  so,  quickly 
screwing  up  my  nerves  for  a  steady  shot,  I  allowed  him  to 
advance  within  nine  yards  or  so.  As  good  luck  would 
have  it,  he  swerved  a  little  to  the  right,  thus  affording  me 
the  opportunity  of  giving  him  a  very  favourite  ball.  I 
fired.  With  one  terrific  roar  he  bounded  into  the  jungle 
to  the  right  of  us. 

"  His  voice  had  such  an  effect  on  my  attendant  that  he 
made  a  desperate  attempt  to  bolt  past  me  out  of  the  bush. 
I,  however,  seized  him  by  the  wrist  and  held  him  fast, 
apparently  much  to  his  horror  and  disgust.  I  find  that 
remaining  quiet  at  such  a  moment  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance, as  in  the  event  of  the  cat  discovering  his  enemy, 
he  will  spring  upon  him  to  a  certainty. 

"  After  remaining  quiet  for  ten  minutes  listening,  so 
as  to  be  sure  that  he  was  either  dead  or  had  crawled  away 
into  the  jungle,  we  got  out  and  walked  home.  At  day- 
break we  returned  in  company  with  a  numerous  retinue, 
and  were  at  no  loss  to  find  the  trail,  as,  independent  of  the 
tracks  upon  the  light  soil,  blood-stains  were  not  wanting. 
These  continued  for  about  thirty  yards  and  then  ceased. 
That  was  easily  accounted  for,  as  he  had  then  evidently 
sat  down  and  licked  his  wounds. 

"  After  following  the  trail  a  little  further,  we  lost  it  in 
thick  jungle.  There  the  natives  drew  back,  and  no  offer 
could  tempt  them  to  proceed.  I  made  a  long  and  vain 
search  single-handed,  but  was  obliged  to  give  it  up  for 
the  moment  as  a  bad  job.  Feeling  certain,  however,  from 
various  circumstances,  that  he  could  not  have  crawled  far, 
I  offered  a  reward  of  two  rupees  to  any  one  who  would 


A    VILLAGE    PEST.  67 

bring  me  his  head.  This  step  had  the  desired  effect,  as, 
on  the  third  morning  after,  a  man  came  to  my  bungalow 
and  demanded  payment,  as  he  had  found  the  cat. 

'*  I  rode  off  with  him  to  the  spot,  being  anxious  to  see 
the  uoble  brute,  and  also  how  the  ball  had  taken  effect. 
To  my  surprise,  he  had  hardly  gone  250  yards  from  the 
scene  of  action,  and  was  lying  in  an  old  chena  by  the 
side  of  a  dense  jungle.  The  poor  animal  had  evidently 
survived  the  shot  some  time,  as  he  lay  in  a  crouching 
attitude,  as  if  preparatory  to  making  a  spring.  He  was  a 
full-grown  male,  and  measured  upwards  of  eight  feet  seven 
inches  from  nose  to  tail.  The  ball  had  entered  the  left 
shoulder  and  passed  out  below  the  ribs  on  the  left  side. 

"  The  headman  of  the  village  told  me  that  £200  would 
not  cover  the  damage  this  leopard  had  done  by  the  slaughter 
of  cattle  in  that  and  the  neighbouring  villages." 

Here  ends  the  only  fragment  I  possess  of  my  brother's 
diary. 

From  a  small  packet  of  letters  I  give  the  following 
extracts  : — 

"July  21th,  1852. — Kandy. — I  came  up  to  the  Kandyan 
country  ten  days  ago  upon  business.  It  is  a  great  relief 
to  have  one's  nerves  braced  up  after  the  fearful  heat  of 
the  low  country.  I  have  had  a  few  days'  elk-hunting  with 
a  friend,  and  enjoyed  myself  very  much.  It  is  one  of  the 
noblest  and  at  the  same  time  the  hardest  sport  I  know. 
We  run  down  the  deer  with  fox-hounds,  which  gives  us 
a  run  on  foot  of  eight  or  ten  miles  over  mountains  and 
rocks,  through  rugged  glens  and  along  precipice?.  Deer- 
stalking in  Scotland  is  comparatively  tame  work." 


68  SOME    PAGES    FROM    A    BROTHER'S    DIARY. 

"1857. — Batticaloa. — Christmas  alone  in  tlie  backwoods 
is  not  a  cheerful  season,  so  I  was  glad  to  seek  a  little 
excitement  in  the  jungle.  Had  I  chosen  to  stick  to 
elephants,  I  could  easily  have  made  a  large  bag  (of  their 
tails),  but  I  prefer  variety,  and  to  get  that,  one  has  to  go 
to  work  quietly.  As  it  was,  I  killed  four  elephants,  eight 
buffaloes,  two  elk,  six  leopards,  and  a  considerable  number 
of  deer  and  pigs;  of  these  I  only  kill  what  I  require  for 
feeding  my  men. 

"  While  out,  two  of  my  friends  from  Kandy  joined  me. 
They  stuck  to  elephants,  and  killed  four,  one  of  which  was 
a  small  tusker.  Shipton  nearly  came  to  grief;  he  was 
knocked  over  by  an  elephant,  which  afterwards  walked 
over  Ids  body,  but  got  confused,  and  fortunately  left  him. 
Two  months  ago,  a  native,  under  almost  similar  circum- 
stances, was  taken  up  by  the  elephant  in  his  trunk, 
and  deliberately  pounded  to  death  between  the  brute's 
knees. 

"  I  was  very  sorry  to  hear  of  poor  Bill  being  hugged  by 
a  bear  and  getting  his  wrist  chawed  up;^  but  it  is  well  it 
was  not  worse,  as  these  horrid  creatures  invariably  try  to 
get  at  your  face.  In  my  night  excursions,  generally  in  the 
early  morning,  when  they  are  on  the  prowl  in  search  of 
prey,  I  have  had  some  extraordinary  escapes,  especially  on 
one  occasion,  when,  just  as  the  brute  flew  at  me  open- 
mouthed,  I  sent  a  ball  down  its  throat.  The  Ceylon  bears 
are  enormously  strong  and  very  savage,  often  attacking  men 
without  provocation.  Sometimes  they  drop  on  natives  from 
trees  and  lacerate  them  frightfully. 

"  They  are   omnivorous,   eating   fruit,  roots,  and   honey, 

^  See  "  "Wild  ]\Ieu  aud  "Wild  Beasts."  By  Colonel  "William  Gordon 
Gumming.     Published  by  David  Douglas,  Edinburgh. 


A  sportsman's  risks.  69 

supplemented  by  ants,  which  give  a  formic  acid  relish,  but 
they  are  always  ready  for  raw  meat  if  they  can  get  it. 

"  They  are  very  jealous  of  human  poachers  on  their  pre- 
serves of  wild  honey,  and  often  attack  natives  while  honey- 
hunting  in  the  forests. 

"  Several  accidents  happened  while  I  was  out  last.  One 
poor  fellow,  whom  I  saw  on  my  way  out,  was  killed  before 
my  return  by  a  bear,  which  literally  tore  him  to  pieces,  and 
yet  the  poor  wretch  lived  for  ten  days  afterwards.  He  was 
in  a  fearful  condition :  his  right  eye  was  gouged  out,  and 
the  side-bone  of  the  face  torn  away — features  could  scarcely 
be  distinguished ;  his  arms  and  legs  were  also  frightfully 
mangled. 

"  Another  man  had  his  stomach  torn  out  by  a  buffalo, 
and  died  immediately.  Another  was  killed  by  a  crocodile, 
which  caught  him  while  fishing  in  a  tank.  He  was  rescued, 
but  died  in  the  course  of  the  night.  During  the  same  time 
I  heard  of  four  deaths  from  snake-bite.  So,  you  see,  a  sports- 
man in  this  country  has  to  keep  a  good  look-out ;  but  I  find 
endless  delight  in  watching  beasts,  birds,  reptiles,  and  nature 
in  general. 

"  It  was  the  season  for  birds'  nests,  and  my  men  feasted 
freely  on  the  eggs  of  pea-fowl  and  many  sorts  of  water-fowl. 
I  myself  robbed  a  lot  of  pelicans'  nests,  just  for  the  fun  of 
the  thing,  but  the  eggs  were  rather  strong  for  my  taste.  It 
is  so  absurd  of  these  large  birds  to  build  their  nests  iu 
trees,  and  their  nests  are  small  in  proportion  to  the  size  of 
the  bird. 

"  While  passing  through  a  low,  swampy  jungle  I  came 
on  a  crocodile's  mound,  and  the  proprietrix,  a  very  large 
one,  was  lying  quietly  on  guard.  I  gave  her  an  elephant 
ball,  which  blew  her  brains  away,  and  she  never  moved  a 


70  SOMI']    TADES    FROM    A    BROTHER's    DIARY. 

muscle.  With  a  good  deal  of  troulJe,  we  dug  out  the  eggs 
from  the  centre  of  the  mound,  and  tlien  smashed  them. 
There  were  fifty-eight  in  all.  A  crocodile  lays  from  fifty 
to  a  hundred  eggs,  very  much  resembling  those  of  a 
common  goose.  Fancy  all  these  horrors  coming  to  years 
of  discretion  ! 

"  Another  day  I  passed  two  very  fine  specimens  of  roek- 
stiahe,  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  feet  long.  I  could  easily  have 
secured  them,  but  left  them  undisturbed. 

"  I  kill  a  considerable  number  of  crocodiles  by  the  aid 
of  a  hook  baited  with  raw  meat  and  attached  to  a  strong 
rope  made  of  a  great  number  of  small  cords  so  loosely 
twisted  as  to  get  between  the  teeth  of  the  brute,  who  is 
thus  unable  to  bite  them.  A  wooden  float  attached  to 
the  line  indicates  the  whereabouts  of  the  too-confiding 
crocodile  who  has  swallowed  the  bait,  I  draw  the  float 
gently  ashore,  and  with  it  the  head  of  the  poor  reptile, 
when  a  well-directed  shot  aimed  at  the  back  of  the  neck 
breaks  the  spine  and  secures  an  easy  victim." 

"January  1863. — Batticaloa. — This  is  our  monsoon  or 
wet  season.  Fancy  that  for  nineteen  days  we  have  had  no 
tappal — that  is,  post— from  Colombo  on  account  of  the  low 
country  being  flooded,  and  at  the  snme  time  our  port  is 
closed,  so  we  are  effectually  cut  off  from  communication 
with  the  world.  Speaking  of  post,  delightful  as  it  is  to 
receive  letters  from  home,  you  really  must  all  remember  to 
have  your  letters  weighed,  as  I  have  sometimes  had  to  pay 
as  much  as  six  shillings  for  a  single  letter,  and  that's  no 
joke  in  these  hard  times." 

"April  1863. — The  last  two  months  have  been,  as  usual, 


FOES    OF   A   COCOA-NUT    PLANTER.  71 

most  oppressive,  owing  to  the  reflection  of  the  sun  and  dry- 
ing up  of  the  waters  after  the  monsoon.  However,  vegeta- 
tion is  at  its  fullest,  and  all  nature  rejoices.  Birds  of  all 
sorts  are  busy  building  and  rearing  their  young.  It  is 
commonly  said  that  tropical  songsters  are  inferior  to  those 
of  Europe.  I  find,  on  the  contrary,  that  some  of  the  birds 
here  are  the  most  powerful  and  melodious  I  have  ever 
heard.  But  as  regards  human  beings,  the  only  time  when 
a  white  man  can  have  any  enjoyment  of  life,  is  the  first 
hour  of  the  morning  and  the  last  at  night,  the  glare  and 
heat  of  the  intervening  hours  being  insufferable." 

"July  18G3. — I  often  wonder  how  you  would  relish  a 
week  of  such  weather  as  we  have  at  present.  During 
May,  June,  and  July  our  hot  winds  prevail,  the  blasts  of 
which  are  just  such  as  you  might  imagine  coming  from  the 
lower  regions.  At  this  moment  it  is  blowing  in  full  force, 
apparently,  as  one  would  think,  carrying  desolation  and 
destruction  along  with  it.  I  can  tell  you  that  a  man  lead- 
ing an  almost  solitary  life  in  such  a  sultry  and  exhausting 
climate  has  to  '  make  an  effort '  to  keep  body  and  soul  together. 
I  occasionally  go  out  shooting,  but  it  is  more  for  the  sake 
of  exercise  and  excitement  than  real  pleasure,  such  is  the 
effect  of  an  unnatural  temperature  upon  the  constitution. 

"  I  went  out  about  a  fortnight  ago  and  killed  various 
troublesome  beasts,  amongst  others  five  very  large  elephants, 
all  with  single  shots.  I  also  bagged  a  very  large  crocodile 
with  baited  hook  and  line. 

Some  people  seem  to  imagine  that  the  life  of  a  cocoa-nut 
planter  must  be  a  very  easy  one.  That  certainly  is  not  the 
case  if  you  happen  to  be  settled  in  a  part  of  the  country 
where  wild  animals  abound,  and  where,  for  want  of  suffi- 


72  SOME    PAGES    FKOM    A    BROTHER'S    DIARY. 

cient  timber  to  make  fences,  you  are  obliged  to  be  constantly 
on  the  alert  to  protect  your  property. 

"  I  generally  rise  at  4.30  a.m.  and  take  a  saunter  in  the 
jungle,  watching  the  habits  of  any  animals  or  birds  I  may 
see.  Iieturning  to  coffee,  I  start  my  men  at  6  a.m.  to  their 
various  duties.  Meanwhile  a  watcher  has  gone  all  round 
the  estates,  and  reports  any  damage  done  by  buffaloes,  wild- 
hog,  or  porcupines.  When  he  has  anything  to  report  I  go 
to  inspect,  and  if  buffaloes  have  broken  in  we  summon  a 
village  headman,  who  values  the  damage  done  and  fines  the 
owners  accordingly.  Sometimes  these  buffaloes  are  savage 
and  knock  the  men  down  right  and  left.  When  the  same 
animals  return  too  often  we  shoot  them. 

"  Wild-hog  are  the  worst  enemies  we  have  to  contend 
with.  Those  which  enter  the  estates  are  generally  the  large 
single  boars,  and  as  they  are  ferocious  to  a  degree,  especially 
when  surrounded,  we  run  considerable  risk  in  effecting  their 
destruction.  You  can  fancy  what  their  strength  must  be 
when  one  rip  is  sufficient  to  cut  open  a  horse  or  a  bullock. 

"  I  have  had  so  many  dogs  cut  to  pieces  that  I  have  given 
up  keeping  them,  and  in  general  I  now  shoot  as  many  boars 
as  I  can.  Some,  however,  are  such  cunning  old  hands  that 
they  only  come  on  dark  nights,  and  go  away  again  before 
morning.  For  these  we  prepare  pitfalls  filled  with  sharp 
stakes.     This  causes  a  very  horrible  death. 

"  A  curious  thing  happened  lately.  A  large  boar  had  been 
giving  much  trouble.  Two  pitfalls  were  prepared  at  low 
parts  of  the  fence  where  he  was  in  the  habit  of  jumping 
over.  A  porcupine  fell  into  one  and  got  staked,  but  he 
slipped  in  so  quietly  as  not  to  disarrange  the  branches  and 
grass  placed  over  the  top.  In  the  course  of  the  night  the 
boar  fell  into  the  other  trap,  and  although  badly  staked  he 


A    HORRIBLE    FIGHT.  73 

managed  to  get  out ;  but  while  seeking  for  a  hole  in  the 
fence  by  which  to  get  out  he  fell  into  the  other  pit  on  to 
the  porcupine,  and  must  have  attacked  it  furiously,  for  his 
mouth  and  nose  were  all  transfixed  with  quills.  After  all, 
he  managed  to  get  out  of  the  pit,  and  in  the  morning  we 
found  him  at  some  distance  lying  in  a  bush,  too  weak  to 
charge.  The  poor  creature's  tongue  and  throat  were  literally 
riddled  with  quills. 

"  It  was  very  horrible,  and  I  much  prefer  shooting  them 
when  it  is  possible.  I  lately  shot  five  large  ones  in  one 
morning.  The  natives  are  always  glad  to  get  pig's  flesh, 
though  Europeans  generally  object  to  it,  as  the  wild  pigs 
are  filthy  feeders,  and  feast  on  putrid  carrion  quite  as 
readily  as  on  young  cocoa-palms  (so  that  their  trespassing 
on  the  latter  is  inexcusable).  They  even  gobble  up  the 
enormous  earth-worms,  which  are  as  large  as  small  snakes. 

"  As  a  matter  of  sport,  pig-hunting  in  this  island  is  a  very 
different  thing  from  Indian  pig- sticking,  which  is  all  done 
on  horseback  by  men  carrying  spears.  Here  the  sportsmen 
follow  on  foot,  and  the  only  weapon  in  use  is  a  long,  sharp 
hunting-knife.  Young  boars  and  sows  go  about  in  large 
herds  of  perhaps  a  couple  of  hundred,  but  the  old  patriarchs 
prefer  vranderiug  about  independently. 

"  Porcupines  also  do  serious  damage  on  a  cocoa-palm 
plantation,  as  they  have  a  special  weakness  for  the  heart 
of  young  palms ;  and  there  is  no  keeping  them  out,  as  they 
gnaw  their  way  through  fences  or  burrow  under  walls  in 
the  most  determined  manner.  They  can  be  tamed,  but  are 
troublesome  and  mischievous  pets. 

"At  11  A.M.  I  return  to  breakfast,  and  the  men  do  like- 
wise, resuming  work  at  1.  If  possible  I  remain  indoors 
till  3  P.M.,  when  I  go  out  again  till  sunset  at  about  6.30. 


74  SOME    PAGES    FROM    A    BROTHER'S    DIARY. 

"  Then,  unless  there  is  any  niglit  shootiui,'  to  be  done,  I 
am  glad  to  get  to  bed  early,  and  so  take  refuge  inside  the 
nets  to  escape  the  mosquitos  and  other  playful  insects.  At 
the  present  moment  I  can  hardly  see  my  paper  for  eye-flies." 

I  think  there  are  few  sportsmen  who  will  not  share  my 
regret  that  these  meagre  notes  are  all  that  remain  to  record 
the  experience  and  observation  of  one  who  landed  in  the 
Isle  while  it  was  still  a  true  paradise  for  sportsmen — when 
the  multitude  of  wild  animals  was  as  described  by  Sir  James 
Emerson  Tennant — when  there  were  no  game-laws,  no  need 
of  licences,  only  a  grateful  people,  not,  like  the  villagers  of 
to-day,  provided  with  rifles,  powder,  and  shot,  but  ready  to 
bless  the  white  man,  who  freed  them  from  the  incursions  of 
dangerous  foes  and  provided  them  with  abundant  food,  in 
the  form  of  wild  pigs  and  sundry  kinds  of  deer.  For  his 
own  camp  fare  there  was  a  most  appetising  variety  of 
birds,  jungle  and  pea  fowl,  red-legged  partridges,  plover,  and 
pigeons,  quails,  parroquets,  fine  fat  wild-ducks,  snipe,  cranes — 
in  short,  ample  materials  for  savoury  stews  and  roasts ;  and 
of  these  also  we  occasionally  received  amusing  notices,  as, 
for  instance,  when  one  day  he  had  shot  a  lovely  rose-tinted 
marabout  stork  that  he  might  send  me  its  feathers,  and  its 
body  had  furnished  an  excellent  stew.  After  dinner  his 
servant  remarked  that  fish  must  surely  be  very  scarce  this 
season.  On  his  asking  "Wliy  ?"  the  reply  came,  "Because 
in  cleaning  that  bird  for  master's  dinner  I  found  a  large  rat 
inside  of  it !  "  Now,  even  in  the  jungle,  that  was  not  a  very 
pleasant  suggestion ! 

Besides  all  the  animals  that  can  be  classed  as  game,  that 
quiet  observer  of  nature  found  a  never-failing  delight  in 
studvincr  the  habits  of  all  manner  of  creatures  which  a  mere 


A    HUNTERS    BUNGALOW.  75 

liiinter  would  pass  unnoticed,  or  probably  destroy  as  vermin. 
My  brother's  delight  lay  in  taming  many  sncli,  and  his  rough- 
and-ready  bungalow  was  not  only  adorned  with  all  manner 
of  trophies  of  the  chase,  but  also  was  the  home  of  a  most 
singular  variety  of  pets  of  all  sorts — his  companions  in  many 
a  lonelv  hour. 


7G 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

BATTICALOA. 

Musical  shell-fish — Shooting  fish  by  torchlight — Baptism  of  villagers 
at  Navatkuda — Tamil  caste  persecution — Honorific  umbrellas — 
Life  on  a  cocoa-palm  estate — Visit  to  the  Veddahs — Dread  of  the 
evil  eye — Singhalese  castes — Dhobies  prepare  huts  for  travellers 
— Bad  water  causes  divers  diseases — Pollanarua. 

From  Rugam  we  drove  to  Batticaloa ;  part  of  the  distance 
was  to  have  been  accomplished  in  a  borrowed  carriage,  but 
as  the  horse  totally  refused  to  move,  and  finally  lay  down 
in  the  middle  of  the  road,  we  had  to  wait  several  hours 
under  the  palm-trees  till  another  could  be  procured.  These 
little  diflBculties  are  of  such  frequent  recurrence  whenever 
it  is  necessary  to  hire  horses,  and  tlie  many  unpleasant 
methods  to  which  the  horse-keepers  resort  to  persuade 
obstinate,  or  perhaps  half-starved,  animals  to  proceed  have 
been  so  often  described,  that  it  is  needless  to  refer  to  them, 
and,  personally,  my  own  experience  was  generally  confined 
to  the  well-cared-for  and  well-trained  horses  of  friends. 

The  country  towards  Batticaloa  is  a  dead-level  plain, 
which  (thanks  to  the  restoration  of  the  tanks,  and  of  the 
ancient  system  of  irrigation)  has  been  transformed  from  an 
unhealthy  marsh,  overgrown  with  low  jungle,  to  a  vast 
expanse  of  luxuriant  rice. 


FRESH-WATER   LAGOONS.  ii 

Sir  Henry  Ward  (who  first  suggested  the  necessity  of  a 
forest  protection)  was  also  the  first  to  attempt  any  resto- 
ration of  the  old  irrigation  works  in  the  Eastern  and  Southern 
Provinces.  In  the  Batticaloa  district  the  repair  of  the 
great  tanks  at  Irakkamam  and  Amparai  restored  prosperity 
to  all  the  country  round,  converting  a  district  where 
malarious  swamps  alternated  with  arid  wastes  into  a 
smiling  expanse  of  fertile  laud.  Now  the  eye  may  rest 
on  a  plain  of  about  20,000  acres  of  lovely  green  rice,  in 
addition  to  all  other  varieties  of  cultivation,  and  a  well- 
fed,  prosperous,  healthy  population  replaces  the  half-starved 
and  diseased  villagers  of  fifty  years  ago. 

Parallel  with  the  coast  for  about  thirty  miles  lies  one  of 
those  strange  fresh-water  lagoons  or  "gobbs"  similar  to 
those  on  which  we  sailed  up  the  western  shores  of  Ceylon,^ 
formed  by  the  confluence  of  some  of  the  many  rivers,  which, 
meandering  through  this  vast  verdant  plain,  200  miles  in 
length  by  about  twenty  in  width,  have  changed  their  course 
in  many  a  flood,  and  yet  continue  to  supply  their  former 
channels,  thus  forming  a  natural  network  of  navigable 
canals — quiet  waterways  fringed  with  dense  thickets  of 
evergreen  mangroves  whose  curiously  arched  and  wide- 
spreading  roots  grow  right  into  the  water,  the  home  of  in- 
numerable crabs  and  shell-fish,  and  also  swarming  with 
crocodiles.  Lovely  blue  kingfishers  and  snowy  or  rose- 
coloured  cranes,  pelicans,  and  other  aquatic  birds  here  find 
quiet  covert  whence  they  can  fish  unmolested. 

The  united  waters  are  prevented  from  entering  the  sea 
(except  when  in  flood)  by  a  harbour-bar  of  their  own 
creating,  which  effectually  forbids  the  entrance  of  any 
vessel — a  grave  inconvenience  to  those  whose  business  is 

^  See  chapter  iv.     A  glance  at  the  map  will  well  repay  the  trouble. 


/C  BATTICALOA. 

occasionally  interrupted  by  the  raging  breakers  ou  the  bar, 
but  a  feature  which  secures  a  beautifully  calm  lake,  in 
which  all  the  ranges  of  blue  distant  liills  and  wooded  head- 
lands lie  faultlessly  mirrored. 

The  name  of  Batticaloa  is  said  to  be  derived  from  the 
Tamil  words  Malta  Kala^im,  meaning  "  Mud-Lake,"  and 
the  little  isle  on  which  the  Portuguese  built  their  town  and 
fort  is  called  I'uliyantivu,  or  "  The  Isle  of  the  Tamarind- 
trees."  This  they  did  in  1627  without  permission  of  the 
King  of  Kandy,  who  thereupon  invoked  the  aid  of  the 
Dutch.  These  in  1638  arrived  in  force  from  Java  with 
six  ships-of-war,  captured  and  destroyed  the  fort,  and  then 
proceeded  to  build  one  for  themselves,  which  remains  to 
this  day,  with  the  invariable  uncompromisingly  plain  chapel 
within  its  precincts. 

Likewise  within  the  fort,  and  scattered  round  three  sides 
of  a  grassy  common,  are  white  houses  all  roofed  with  red 
tiles,  each  bungalow  standing  in  its  own  pleasant  garden. 
The  peaceful  cemetery  occupies  a  prominent  position  on  this 
green  common,  one  side  of  which  is  washed  by  the  lake, 
whose  farther  shores  are  densely  clothed  with  cocoa-palms. 

One  of  those  red-tiled  houses  and  one  little  corner  in 
that  still  God's  acre  possess  a  very  special  interest  in  our 
family  history,  as  the  scenes  of  the  close  of  this  first 
chapter  in  the  life  of  one  very  dear  to  us.^ 

After  watching  a  gorgeous  sunset  from  the  ramparts  of 
the  old  Dutch  fort,  when  earth  and  lake  and  sky  seemed 
transformed  to  glowing  gold  and  the  rosy  oleanders  shone 
red  as  rubies,  we  rowed  in  the  quiet  moonlight  to  listen 
to  the  faint  notes  of  the  far-famed  "musical  shell-fish,"' 
which  are  only  to  be  heard  in  the  dry  season,  so  we  were 
1  See  page  169. 


SHOOTIXCx    FISH    WITH    AEROWS.  79 

fortunate  in  the  time  of  our  visit.  When  the  lake  is 
swollen  \>y  the  rains  the  depth  of  M'ater  deadens  the  faint 
submarine  chorus. 

That  night  there  was  not  a  breath  of  wind  nor  the  least 
ripple  to  disturb  the  dead  calm,  and  we  distinctly  heard 
the  tiny  voices,  each  apparently  producing  a  succession  of 
notes,  as  if  you  gently  tapped  a  tumbler  with  a  steel 
knitting-pin,  the  combination  of  these  producing  faint 
rippliug  thrills,  just  like  the  vibration  when  you  rub  the 
rim  of  a  linger-glass  with  a  moist  finger. 

We  rowed  very  gently,  halting  at  different  points  where 
alone  the  sounds  were  audible,  whence  we  inferred  that 
the  musicians  live  in  colonies.  The  Tamil  fishermen 
attribute  the  notes  to  the  inmate  of  a  small  pointed  shell 
which  they  call  ooj-ia  coolooroa  cradoe,  "  the  crying-shell ; "  ^ 
but  this  shell  is  found  in  other  lagoons  where  it  shows  no 
talent  for  singing,  and,  in  truth,  no  one  seems  able  to 
identify  this  little  minstrel  of  the  Batticaloa  lake. 

Less  pleasant  inhabitants  of  the  lake  are  the  crocodiles, 
which  are  large  and  numerous,  ranging  from  six  inches  to 
twenty  feet  in  length.  The  former,  of  course,  are  the 
newly  hatched  babies. 

We  were  much  interested  in  watching  the  fishers  shoot- 
ing fish  by  firelight,  which  they  did  with  almost  unerring 
aim.  They  go  out  at  sunset,  and  having  kindled  a  bright 
fire  in  a  brazier  in  tlie  centre  of  their  boat,  they  stand  at 
the  prow  with  a  large  bow  and  arrow — the  latter  attached 
to  a  long  string,  wliereby  they  draw  in  the  silvery  fish 
which,  moth-like,  have  been  attracted  to  their  doom  by  the 
glare  on  the  dark  waters.  The  strangely  shaped  boats  and 
dark  figures,  and  the  refiections  of  these  moving  fires,  with 

^  Ccritfiiuin  Palustrc. 


80  BATTICALOA. 

the  briglit  moonlight  just  silvering  the  tall  dark  palms, 
presented  a  succession  of  very  striking  scenes. 

A  few  days  later  we  were  privileged  to  witness  a  scene 
of  far  more  enduring  interest.  On  Sunday  the  Bishop  held 
service  in  English  for  the  general  community  of  Britons 
and  Burghers,  and  afterwards  in  Tamil  for  the  converts  of 
that  race,  assisted  by  their  own  native  clergyman. 

The  latter  had  the  happiness  of  telling  him  of  the  re- 
markable (and  in  Ceylon  quite  unique)  conversion  of  all 
the  inhabitants  of  a  neighbouring  village — that  is  to  say, 
that  all  had  resolved  en  masse  to  give  up  the  worship  of 
the  Tamil  (Hindoo)  gods,  and  to  become  the  faithful 
servants  of  the  One  True  God.  They  had  already  given 
substantial  proof  of  being  thoroughly  in  earnest,  for  al- 
though very  poor  people — only  despised  toddy-drawers — 
of  the  Nallavar  caste,  they  had  quite  of  their  own  accord 
subscribed  so  liberally  that  they  had  raised  sufficient  money 
to  buy  a  piece  of  land  as  the  site  for  their  village  church, 
and  had  already  built  a  temporary  house  in  which  to  meet 
for  service. 

These  earnest  converts  now  craved  Christian  baptism, 
and  the  native  clergyman  requested  the  Bishop  to  go  to 
their  village  and  admit  thirty  men  to  that  holy  Sacrament. 
About  130  women  and  children  were  kept  back  for  fuller 
instruction. 

On  a  lovely  afternoon  ^  we  proceeded  by  boat  to  the 
village  of  Navatkuda  (i.e.,  the  Bay  of  the  Jambu-tree  or 
Eose-apple,^  a  waxy  pink  fruit  with  a  flavour  like  the 
perfume  of  rose-leaves),  which  lies  on  the  shores  of  the 
lake,  about  two  miles  from  Batticaloa. 

1  September  10th,  1873. 

^  "The  Malay  Apple"  {Eugenia  Malacc  nsis). 


ADULT   BAPTISMS.  81 

There,  on  the  grassy  palm-fringed  shore  of  the  clear 
blue  lake,  we  found  the  160  men,  women,  and  children 
who  had  resolved  on  this  great  step,  assembled  to  receive 
the  servant  of  their  newly-found  Master.  Brown  men  with 
large  turbans  and  waist-cloths  of  bright- coloured  calico,  and 
brown  women  and  children  with  glossy  black  hair  and 
brilliant  drapery,  and  of  course  (however  poor)  adorned 
with  some  sort  of  metal  bracelets  and  anklets,  always 
ornamental.  They  were  a  very  nice-looking  lot,  and  all 
reverently  escorted  the  Bishop  to  their  little  temporary 
chapel,  which  was  hung  with  white  calico  ("  the  honours 
of  the  white  cloth "),  and  prettily  decorated  with  palm 
leaves  in  the  native  style. 

Nothing  could  have  been  more  impressive  than  the 
baptismal  service  which  followed,  and  all  listened  with  the 
deepest  and  most  earnest  attention  to  the  Bishop's  address, 
charging  one  and  all  to  stand  steadfast  unto  the  end,  in  the 
face  of  whatever  difficulties  might  await  them.  Then,  as 
the  sun  set,  we  bade  them  farewell,  and  rowed  back  to 
Batticaloa  in  the  stillness  of  rapidly-deepening  twilight, 
watching  the  gleaming  reflections  of  many  boat-fires  as  the 
fishers  started  for  their  evening  sport. 

Very  shortly  after  this  the  Bishop's  health  became  so 
seriously  affected  that  he  was  compelled  to  resign  his  charge 
in  Ceylon  and  return  to  Britain ;  and  though  the  remem- 
brance of  the  scene  on  the  shores  of  the  lake  has  often  come 
back  to  me,  it  is  only  quite  recently  that  I  have  obtained 
details  of  the  grievous  and  pitiless  persecution  which  (albeit 
under  protection  of  the  Union  Jack)  these  our  fellow-subjects 
and  I'ellow-Christians  have  endured  during  all  these  Ions 
years,  for  no  other  reason  than  that,  being  of  very  low  caste 

VOL  II.  F 


82  BATTIC'ALOA. 

— toddy-drawers  ^ — they  had  presumed  to  support  a  resident 
schoolmaster,  and  they  and  their  children  had  obtained  a 
little  rudimentary  education.  For  religious  teaching  they 
were  dependent  on  the  visits  of  a  catechist,  and  occasionally 
of  a  Tamil  clergyman,  the  Eev.  A.  Yethacan. 

From  the  time  of  their  conversion  they  declined  to  carry 
wood  to  the  idol  temples,  and  they  abstain  from  Sunday- 
work,  except  the  necessary  collection  of  the  sap  in  the 
early  morning.  But  worst  of  all,  it  is  averred  that  some 
of  these  low-caste  people  have  actually  ventured  to  carry 
umbrellas  to  shelter  them  from  the  blazing  sun  !  These 
are  the  sole  offences  of  which  they  have  been  guilty,  and 
for  which  they  have  repeatedly  been  cruelly  beaten  and 
insulted  by  unneighbourly  neighbours  of  the  Fisher  caste, 
who  (taking  advantage  of  their  sometimes  prolonged  absence 
at  different  cocoa-nut  plantations,  where  they  have  been 
employed  in  the  dangerous  work  of  toddy-drawing)  have 
again  and  again  maliciously  destroyed  their  poor  palm-leaf 
and  mud  huts,  so  that  on  their  return  they  have  found 
their  houses  all  wrecked. 

The  persecution  can  scarcely  be  ascribed  to  envy  of  any 
advantages  conferred  on  these  poor  Christians  by  their  pro- 
fession of  faith,  for  they  do  not  seem  to  have  received  any 
sympathy  or  support  from  the  large  Christian  community 
in  Batticaloa,  and  they  have  never  yet  been  able  to  im- 
prove on  their  original  rude  school- chapel,  though  years  ago 
they  collected  a  great  heap  of  bricks,  hoping  soon  to  be  able 
to  build  a  simple  church. 

To  this  effort  they  were  encouraged  by  the  present 
Bishop,^  who  visited  them  in  1889,  and  being  deeply  touched 

^  The  work  of  collecting  the  sap  of  the  palm-blossoms  is   described  ia 
page  158. 

■  The  Eight  Rev.  R.  S.  Copleston,  D.D. 


CASTE    PERSECUTIONS.  83 

by  manifest  proofs  of  their  genuiue  Christianity,  earnestly 
commended  their  work  to  the  sympathy  of  the  Church 
in  Batticaloa.  But  beyond  the  collection  of  a  small  sum 
of  money  by  the  Bishop  himself,  nothing  seems  to  have 
been  done,  and  probably  the  very  fact  of  the  Bishop's 
visit  stirred  up  the  jealousy  of  the  Fishers,  who  perhaps 
were  also  influenced  by  the  somewhat  general  revival  of 
caste  distinctions,  owing  to  their  unfortunate  recent  formal 
recognition  by  the  British  Government.  Anyhow,  on  Jan- 
uary 6,  1890,  they  commenced  a  most  unprovoked  series 
of  attacks  on  the  poor  Christians,  two  of  whom  were  so 
seriously  wounded  that  they  had  to  be  carried  to  the 
hospital  at  Batticaloa,  their  assailants  proceeding  to  burn 
the  school- chapel  with  its  benches  and  simple  furnishings, 
and  totally  destroy  the  village. 

Nevertheless,  on  the  following  Sunday  the  catechist 
assembled  his  congregation  as  usual,  and  held  service 
beneath  the  shadow  of  the  trees  beside  the  calm  lake. 

Of  course,  as  in  duty  bound,  the  liev.  A.  Vethacan 
reported  the  disgraceful  business  to  the  JMagistrate  and 
Government  Agent,  and  the  ringleaders  having  been  secured, 
several  were  deservedly  sentenced  to  long  terms  of  imprison- 
ment. None  of  the  Christians  were  found  to  be  at  all  in 
fault,  having  acted  solely  in  self-defence. 

As  they  did  not  dare  to  return  to  rebuild  their  village 
on  the  former  site,  the  Government  Agent  determined  at 
first  to  provide  for  them  a  new  settlement  on  Government 
land  in  another  part  of  the  district ;  but  believing  that 
after  the  leader  of  the  aggressions  had  been  committed  to 
prison  all  would  be  peaceful,  he  resolved  to  erect  new  huts 
on  the  old  site,  and  having  done  so,  invited  the  Christians 
to  return.      This  they  were  afraid  to  do,  and  the  headman, 


84  BATTICALOA. 

whose  duty  it  was  to  bring  them  back,  asked  Mr.  Vethacaii 
to  come  over  and  persuade  them  to  do  so. 

Bound  on  this  peaceful  errand  to  his  sorely-tried  flock, 
the  good  old  clergyman  started,  as  he  had  so  often  done,  to 
cross  the  calm  lake  to  Navatkuda,  and  at  7.30  a.m.-^  he 
landed  on  the  grassy  shore,  expecting  to  find  the  headman 
waiting  for  him.  Tliat  official  was  late,  but  I\Ir.  Vethacan 
perceived  a  man  coming  towards  him  armed  with  a  gun  and 
brandishing  a  sword,  and  recognised  one  of  the  most  bitter 
aggressors,  and  one,  moreover,  who  had  been  hurt  by  one  of 
the  Christians  in  self-defence  (as  had  been  proved  in  the 
court). 

On  seeing  this  truculent-looking  person  approach,  Mr. 
Vethacan  returned  to  his  boat  and  shoved  off  from  the  laud, 
whereupon  the  assailant  began  pelting  him  with  stones,  and 
threatening  to  fire  if  the  boatman  did  not  at  once  return, 
w^hich  the  cowardly  fellow,  being  in  mortal  terror,  did. 
The  miscreant  then  fell  on  Mr.  Vethacan  with  his  sword, 
wounding  him  very  severely,  and  then  went  off,  leaving  him 
on  the  ground  half  dead. 

There  he  lay  in  the  blazing  sun  for  about  two  hours 
before  any  one  came  to  his  assistance,  his  boatman  having 
oone  off  to  Batticaloa  to  inform  the  Government  Agent  of 
the  assault.  The  latter  started  at  once,  but  met  another 
boat  in  which  the  victim  was  being  brought  to  the  hospital, 
his  clothes  all  saturated  with  blood.  He  was  found  to  have 
received  several  severe  wounds  on  the  arms,  the  first  finger 
of  the  left  hand  had  been  cut  off,  and  several  others  were 
severely  injured,  and  he  had  lost  so  much  blood  and  received 
so  grave  a  shock  that  at  first  it  was  feared  his  life  was  in 
danger. 

1  On  the  1st  December  1890. 


A    PLEA    FOR    PRACTICAL    SYMPATHY.  00 

Happily,  however,  all  went  on  well,  and  with  good  care 
and  nursing  he  has  made  a  good  recovery,  and  after  five 
months  was  able  to  resume  his  duties.  Ten  months  elapsed 
ere  the  case  was  tried,  when  it  is  satisfactory  to  learn  that 
the  cowardly  assailant  was  then  sentenced  to  ten  months' 
imprisonment.  It  is  equally  satisfactory  to  learn  that  this 
long  delay  was  due  to  the  fact  that  there  was  no  spiiug 
assize  either  at  Trincomalee  or  Batticaloa,  owing  to  the 
general  absence  of  crime  in  the  Eastern  Province,  and 
the  fact  that  there  was  no  other  case  for  trial.  In  order 
to  teach  the  people  to  keep  the  peace,  a  police  force  has 
been  quartered  in  the  village,  for  which  they  will  have 
to  pay  about  1600  rupees  a  year — a  salutary  lesson. 

The  Christians  very  naturally  refuse  to  return  to  their 
old  (quarters,  so  it  has  been  decided  to  remove  them  to  the 
other  side  of  Batticaloa.  Their  chief  regret  is  that  they 
will  thus  be  removed  from  the  neighbourhood  of  a  large 
Mahommedan  village,  where  they  have  hitherto  got  work 
from  employers  who  happily  ignore  caste  questions. 

Surely  it  would  be  well  that  some  proof  of  sympathy  was 
extended  to  these  long-suffering  Christians,  and  the  Bisho}) 
earnestly  hopes  that  funds  may  be  placed  at  his  disposal  to 
enable  him  to  build  their  church,  though  not  on  the  site 
which  they  secured  so  many  years  ago,  and  also  to  secure 
the  salary  of  a  catechist  who  may  endeavour  to  turn  the 
hearts  of  the  persecutors,  and  win  them  also  to  the  know- 
ledge and  love  of  the  Master,  Whose  love  recognises 
no  distinction  of  caste.^ 

For  the  whole  dilliculty  has  really  arisen  from  these 
wretched  petty  caste  privileges,  and  the  determination  of 

'  Any  donations  for  this  object  will  be  gladly  received  by  Sirs.  Coplestoiie, 
IG  Denmark  Place,  Ikiglitou. 


86  BATTIOALOA. 

the  fishers  that  no  lower  caste  should  rise  in  the  social 
scale  or  presume  to  encroach  on  their  prerogatives.  Of 
these,  none  is  so  jealously  guarded  as  that  of  carrying  an 
umbrella  in  scorching  sun  or  pitiless  rain  ! 

A  few  years  ago  some  men  of  the  Barber  caste  presumed 
thus  to  offend  on  the  grand  occasion  of  a  wedding.  The 
fishers  took  umbrage,  smashed  the  umbrellas,  and  a  melee 
ensued  in  which  several  of  the  "  higher  caste  "  were  stabbed. 
This  led  to  a  riot  in  which  sundry  houses  were  burnt,  and 
all  barbers  punished  for  becoming  proud.  Natives  in  good 
position  declared  it  "  served  them  right."  A  number  of 
fishers  were  sent  to  prison,  but  to  this  day  the  barbers  dare 
not  carry  umbrellas.  It  is  alleged  that  the  Nallavars  of 
Navatkuda  had  been  guilty  of  this  offence,  and  that  conse- 
quently the  fishers  resolved  to  give  them  a  lesson.^ 

As  an  example  of  how  low  caste  acts  as  a  social  disability 
even  in  the  professional  world,  I  may  instance  the  case  of 
a  man  whose  father,  although  a  toddy-drawer  by  birth,  has 
made  money  in  plumbago,  and  educated  his  son  as  a  proc- 
tor. His  Tamil  brethren  of  the  law,  however,  would  not 
allow  him  to  sit  at  the  table  with  them  in  his  native  town, 
and  he  has  been  compelled  to  seek  practice  elsewhere. 

Such  a  detail  in  an  English  court  of  law  sounds  strange 
in  Britain,  where  we  are  so  effectually  learning  that  "  money 
maketh  man,"  and  where 

"  Gold  hath  the  sway 
We  all  obey." 

Imagine  the  son  of  a  rich  ironmaster  being  professionally 
scouted  on  account  of  his  father  being  a  self-made  man  ! 

Leaving  Batticaloa  at  sunrise  in  a  wretched  palanquin, 
one  execrable  horse  dragged  us  four  miles  along  the  lake, 
^  See  chapter  xxii.,  Subdivisions  of  Fisher  Caste. 


LIFE    OX    A    COCOA-PALM    ESTATE.  87 

auJ  then  was  replaced  by  one  rather  worse,  till  we  came 
to  a  deep  sand  track,  impassable  for  wheels.  There  the 
Bishop's  horses  met  us,  and  we  rode  to  the  shores  of  the 
Moondim  Aar  lake  or  river,  where  a  boat  was  waiting 
to  take  us  to  Chandivelle,  a  large  cocoa-palm  plantation 
belonging  to  one  of  my  brother's  old  friends. 

A  hospitable  welcome  awaited  us  in  a  real  rough-and- 
ready  bungalow  beneath  the  palms,  a  smaller  separate  one 
being  assigned  to  Miss  Jermyn  and  myself,  which  formed 
our  comfortable  headquarters  for  several  days.  It  was  my 
first  experience  of  living  on  a  cocoa  plantation,  and  was 
quite  "  a  new  sensation "  in  nuts !  Every  morning  the 
great  elephant-cart  went  round  the  estate,  collecting  such 
cocoa-nuts  as  had  fallen  during  the  night,  and  by  midday  a 
huge  pile  had  accumulated.  These  nuts  being  fully  ripe, 
were  then  broken  up  wholesale  with  hatchets  by  a  band  of 
almost  nude  coolies,  and  very  hard  work  they  had,  the  outer 
husk  being  so  thick.  Then  another  lot  scoop  out  the  kernel, 
either  to  be  dried  in  the  sun  as  co'pra  for  curry-stuff,  or  sent 
off  to  the  oil-mill.  On  every  side  picturesque  brown  Tamil 
men  in  big  turbans,  women  in  bright  draperies  with  ear- 
rings and  nose-rings,  bangles  and  anklets  of  silver  or  base 
metal,  and  children  with  silver  charms  but  little  drapery, 
gave  life  and  colour  and  interest  to  the  scene  ;  and  I  for  one 
was  never  weary  of  watching  these  ever-varying  groups  in 
their  daily  avocations,  especially  when  they  gathered  round 
the  primitive  well  to  fill  their  great  red  earthenware  chatties 
or  brass  lotas,  cooling  themselves  by  emptying  these  over 
their  heads. 

A  baby  elephant  wandered  about  as  a  playful  pet,  and 
one  day  a  snake-charmer  brought  a  whole  family  of  deadly 
cobras  to  dance  before  the  verandah,  whereon  lay  the   ugly 


00  BATTICALOA. 

heads  of  several  gigantic  crocodiles  witli  large  white  teeth, 
and  other  hunting  trophies.  These  and  many  other  charac- 
teristic details,  such  as  prickly  aloes  and  tall  cotton-trees, 
were  our  surroundings,  all  bathed  in  the  mellow  sunlight 
streaming  through  the  golden  and  brown  lower  leaves  of 
the  tall  palms,  which  being  right  above  us,  revealed  all 
their  wealth  of  nuts  and  blossom. 

Then  at  night  the  stars  and  the  clear  moonlight  were  so 
perfect  that  we  could  scarcely  go  indoors.  Specially  attrac- 
tive were  the  great  bonfires  (made  of  palm  leaves  and  the 
outer  husks  of  the  nuts),  round  which  about  a  hundred 
of  the  estate  black  cattle  were  picketed  as  a  protection 
against  leopards.  It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  a  more 
strikitig  scene  for  an  artist's  brush  than  these  groups  of 
dark  animals  beneath  the  palms,  which  glowed  so  red  in  the 
firelight,  while  a  silver  shimmer  of  moonlight  played  on 
ever- waving  fronds. 

One  night  we  approached  that  living  picture  too  quickly, 
and  the  cattle  mistook  the  strange  white  women  for  leopards, 
and  some  in  their  terror  broke  loose  and  stampeded. 

I  should  perhaps  mention,  as  a  practical  though  un- 
roraantic  detail,  that  these  large  herds  of  estate  cattle  are 
kept  on  various  plantations  solely  for  the  sake  of  manure. 

1  visited  one  estate  where  180  head  were  kept  at  a  cost  of 
about  £500  per  annum,  their  sole  other  duty  being  to  supply 
milk  and  butter  for  one  couple,  though  doubtless  the  coolies 
profited  by  the  surplus.  They  are  also  allowed  a  limited 
supply  of  cow-dung  for  coating  the  floors  and  the  inner 
walls  of  their  houses,  this  being  an  effectual  preventive  of 
vermin  ;  it  is  far  too  precious  to  be  used  as  fuel,  as  in  India. 
AYhen  coffee  began  to  be  sickly,  this  manure  fell  into  dis- 
favour, as  being  productive  of  obnoxious  white  grubs,  and 


FLIGHTS   OP   SNIPE.  89 

many  estates  sold  their  herds.  Now,  however,  it  is  proved 
that  as  a  fertiliser  for  tea  it  is  of  inestimable  value. 

I  regret  to  learn  that  the  grievous  murrain  which  in  1890 
decimated  so  many  herds  has  not  spared  this  district,  which 
reports  a  decrease  of  14,000  buffaloes  and  6200  black  cattle. 
In  the  district  round  Pollanarua  and  Minery  5581  buffaloes 
and  5223  black  cattle  died, and  many  thousands  more  perished 
in  the  villages  round  Haputale  and  throughout  Uva.  The 
mortality  has  been  unnecessarily  great  owing  to  the  super- 
stitious belief  of  the  people  that  the  murrain  is  the  work 
of  demons,  who  would  be  incensed  by  direct  interference 
with  their  doings  by  any  attempt  to  minister  to  sick  beasts 
or  observe  rational  precautions,  so  that  all  efforts  of  the 
afflicted  cattle-owners  are  limited  to  making  propitiatory 
offerings  to  the  "  ill,  vile,  evil  devils."  ^ 

Our  meat  supply  consisted  largely  of  the  flesh  of  wild 
pig,  which  we  did  not  consider  equal  to  good  English  pork, 
so  we  were  very  glad  when  the  entertainment  was  varied 
by  snipe,  which  are  abundant  in  the  wet  rice  districts  and 
all  marshy  places  in  the  Eastern  Province,  sometimes  rising 
in  flights  of  a  dozen.  I  recently  saw  a  letter  from  this 
very  estate  in  which  the  writer  describes  a  sudden  arrival 
of  unexpected  guests,  for  whom,  naturally,  he  had  no  pro- 
visions. He,  however,  went  off  trustingly  to  his  favourite 
preserve,  and  in  half  an  hour  returned,  having  bagged  17^ 
brace,  which  enabled  him  to  feast  his  friends  on  roast  snipe, 
stewed  snipe,  grilled  snipe,  and  snipe  curry  ! 

1  For  the  benefit  of  any  Southron  who  may  not  recognise  the  quotation,  I 
may  explain  that  it  refers  to  a  Scotch  minister's  exposition  of  the  character 
of  Satan,  and  how  appropriate!}'  he  was  named.  "  For,  my  brethren,  if  you 
take  one  letter  from  his  name,  you  lind  evil — he  is  the  father  of  evil ;  and 
if  you  take  away  a  second,  you  find  vile ;  and  take  yet  another,  and  there 
remains  ill ;  so  that  he  is  just  an  ill,  vile,  evil  devil." 


90  BATTICALOA. 

When  Colonel  Meadcn  was  stationed  at  Trincomalee  in 
1872,  within  easy  reach  of  the  brackish  lake  Tamblegam, 
he  went  out  snipe-shooting  on  seventeen  days  between 
January  and  April,  and  bagged  482  i  couple,  the  highest 
record  being  fifty-two  couple  one  day,  the  lowest  being 
two  couple. 

And  in  occasional  days  in  March,  April,  and  May  1891, 
our  kinsman,  Hector  Macneal,  of  the  Gordon  Highlanders 
(grandson  of  "  The  Old  Forest  Ranger  "),  bagged  375  couple 
in  tlie  low  country  round  Bentotta,  in  the  south-west  of 
the  isle. 

The  bungalow  stands  close  to  a  broad  reach  of  the  river, 
where  in  the  early  morning  and  in  the  delicious  cool  of 
the  evening  I  practised  rowing,  under  the  able  tuition  of 
my  host,  and  very  soon  had  an  opportunity  of  turning  my 
powers  to  good  account  on  the  occasion  of  our  visit  to  the 
Yeddahs. 

The  Park  Country  through  which  we  had  travelled  on 
our  way  to  Batticaloa  lies  on  the  southern  verge  of  the 
region  haunted  (I  can  scarcely  say  inhabited)  by  that 
strangely  primitive  race,  supposed  to  be  descendants  of 
the  aborigines,  who,  upwards  of  two  thousand  years  ago, 
retreated  to  these  wilds  when  the  Singhalese  conquerors 
arrived  here  from  Bengal,  and  have  ever  since  maintained 
their  isolation  from  all  contact  with  civilisation,  only  de- 
siring to  be  left  unmolested  in  their  own  deep  solitudes. 
At  least  this  is  still  the  attitude  of  the  pure-blooded  Eock 
Veddahs,  who  conceal  themselves  in  the  caves  and  forests 
among  the  foot-hills  at  the  base  of  the  great  mountain 
centre — a  region  known  as  "  Bintenne,"  which  describes 
broken  country  at  the  base  of  the  highlands,  answering 
to  "The  Terrai"  at  the  base  of  the  Himalayas.      It  used 


ROCK    VEDDAHS.  91 

to  be  so  pestilential  that  even  camping  there  generally 
resulted  in  jungle-fever,  but  now  its  character  in  that 
respect  has  greatly  improved,  owing  to  considerable  clear- 
ings of  forest. 

This  remote  secluded  region  was,  till  very  recently,  un- 
trodden save  by  these  wild  shy  tribes,  themselves  shunning 
the  human  presence,  and  waging  a  noiseless  warfare  with 
wild  beasts,  silently  stalking  till  within  ten  paces  of  their 
quarry,  then  shooting  with  noiseless  bow  and  arrow — no 
disturbing  firearms — and  rarely  letting  a  wounded  animal 
escape  to  be  a  living  warning  to  his  fellows. 

They  live  in  caves  or  in  temporary  grass  huts  (not  in 
trees,  as  has  been  sometimes  stated),  but  they  rove  to  and 
fro,  following  the  migration  of  game,  which  travels  from  one 
district  to  another  in  search  of  water-pools.  When  the 
water  on  the  low  ground  is  all  dried  up,  and  the  streams 
and  pools  are  transformed  to  beds  of  dry  sand,  the  game 
betakes  itself  to  the  moist  mountain  pastures,  and  the 
Veddahs  follow,  some  of  them  owning  small  dogs  to  help 
them  in  the  chase. 

They  have  long  bows  and  arrows  for  big  game,  and  very 
small  ones  for  birds.  As  regards  the  former,  the  bows,  which 
are  of  very  flexible  wood,  are  over  six  feet  in  length ;  taller 
than  the  ugly  little  archers,  who  are  often  under  five  feet 
in  height.  The  bowstring  is  of  twisted  bark  fibre  greased, 
and  the  arrow  (which  is  a  light  shaft  two  and  a  half  feet 
in  length,  and  winged  with  feathers  from  the  peacock's 
wing)  carries  a  broad  flat  arrow-head  fully  six  inches  in 
length,  and  sometimes  twelve  or  even  fifteen  inches  long. 
These  iron  arrow-heads  used  to  be  the  only  manufactures  of 
the  civilised  world  M'hich  they  at  all  appreciated,  and  certainly 
in  the  hands  of  keen  marksmen  thev  can  do  jrreat  execution. 


92  BATTICALOA. 

The  archer  holds  liis  bow  in  the  right  hand  and  pulls  tlie 
string  witli  the  left  hand. 

Even  the  giant  elephant  does  not  escape,  for  the  hunter 
glides  stealthily  close  up  to  him,  and  aiming  at  the  heart, 
does  his  business  more  swiftly  than  many  a  keen  rifle-shot, 
who  vainly  seeks  the  little  brain  in  that  thick  skull. 

Sometimes  these  archers  fall  in  with  elephants  when 
they  had  expected  only  small  game,  and  when  their  quiver 
is  stored  only  with  little  short-headed  arrows.  Then  they 
wait  till  the  giant  slowly  lifts  his  great  foot,  when,  swift 
as  thought,  the  winged  shaft  pierces  his  sole.  An  angry 
stamp  only  drives  the  barb  I'arther  home,  and  the  hunter, 
well  satisfied  with  his  work,  is  content  to  wait,  knowing 
that  very  quickly  the  wound  will  fester,  and  that  the  poor 
brute,  no  longer  able  to  support  his  own  ponderous  weight, 
must  lie  down,  an  easy  victim  to  his  foes. 

Strange  to  say,  this  nice  clean  vegetarian,  whose  flesh  is 
so  greatly  appreciated  in  Africa,  is  despised  by  all  races  in 
Ceylon  ;  even  the  Veddahs  never  eat  elephant,  buffalo,  or 
bear,  though  squirrels,  mongooses,  and  tortoises,  kites  and 
crows,  owls,  rats,  and  bats  are  highly  esteemed,  while  a 
roast  monkey  or  a  huge  hideous  iguana-lizard  is  an  ideal 
dainty. 

They  also  catch  fish  in  the  rivers  and  neglected  tanks, 
but  their  chief  store  is  deer's  flesh  cut  in  long  strips  and 
dried  on  a  scaffolding  of  sticks  over  a  fire.  It  is  then 
securely  packed  in  bark  and  stowed  away  in  hollow  trees, 
with  a  top-dressing  of  wild  honey  to  exclude  the  air.  Then 
the  hole  is  filled  up  with  clay — a  safe  repository  till  the 
next  time  their  wanderings  lead  them  to  the  same  district. 

When  the  chase  fails  to  supply  them  with  meat,  they 
seek  wild  berries  and  roots,  and  failing  these,  they  allay  the 


ROCK   VEDDAHS.  93 

pangs  of  liimger  by  chewing  bark,  which  also  supplies  their 
clothing.  After  being  soaked  and  beaten  till  it  becomes 
pliable,  it  is  stitched  together  with  fibres  of  the  jungle- 
vines,  which  hang  so  ready  for  use  in  all  the  forests.  But 
even  this  simple  raiment  was  formerly  considered  de  luxe, 
for  when  my  brother  used,  in  his  solitary  forest  wander- 
ings, unexpectedly  to  come  on  Rock  Veddahs,  men  and 
women  alike  were  quite  naked  and  truly  hideous ;  their 
mass  of  long,  shaggy  black  hair,  and  the  men's  long,  un- 
combed beards,  all  filthy  and  matted,  making  their  head 
seem  too  large  in  proportion  to  their  ill-shaped  limbs.  All 
are  insignificant  in  stature,  and  their  wide  nostrils,  large 
jaws,  and  projecting  mouths  and  teeth,  are  certainly  not 
according  to  oitr  idea  of  beauty  ! 

Now,  however,  they  so  far  condescend  to  contact  with 
civilisation  that  they  are  willing  to  accept  a  certain  amount 
of  calico  and  earthenware  chatties,  as  well  as  the  much- 
prized  iron  arrow-heads,  hatchets,  and  salt,  supplied  by 
Moormen,  as  the  Mahommedan  traders  are  called,  and  in 
exchange  for  which  they  place  beeswax,  elk's  horns,  deer's 
flesh,  and  occasionally  an  elephant's  tusk  in  some  conspicuous 
place, 

Lucifer-matches,  however,  have  not  yet  superseded  the 
ancient  way  of  obtaining  fire  by  rapidly  twirling  a  long 
pointed  stick  in  a  hole  made  in  a  piece  of  dry  old  wood, 
held  by  the  feet.  Atoms  of  dry  wood  are  thrown  in  as 
tinder,  and  after  a  few  minutes  of  hard  work  a  spark 
appears  and  fire  is  kindled. 

The  language  of  this  strange  race  consists  chiefly  of  a 
very  limited  range  of  guttural  sounds,  quite  incomprehen- 
sible to  the  Singhalese ;  and  as  regards  religion,  they  have 
literally  none,  having  no  knowledge  of  any  God,  nor  any 


94  BATTICALOA. 

instinct  of  worship  beyond  offering  propitiatory  sacrifices 
to  certain  spirits  of  earth  and  water,  as  their  forefathers, 
the  Yakkas,  did  in  bygone  ages,  to  avert  thunder  and 
lightning ;  and  they  also  perform  some  devil-dances  on 
behalf  of  sick  persons. 

These  really  wild  Kock  Veddahs  are  now  few  in  number, 
and  are  very  rarely  seen.  Hideous  and  filthy  as  they  are, 
the  Singhalese,  with  their  intense  reverence  for  high  posi- 
tion and  ancient  blood,  acknowledge  these  gentlest  of 
savages  as  of  very  high  caste,  ranking  next  to  the  Yellales, 
or  cultivators,  who  rank  highest  of  all. 

The  Village  Veddahs,  with  whom  we  had  several  inter- 
views, are  a  stronger,  more  manly-looking  race,  but  are  not 
of  pure  blood,  having  frequently  intermarried  with  Kan- 
dyans  and  Singhalese,  whose  language  (in  a  very  corrupt 
form)  they  have  adopted.  The  Coast  Yeddahs,  who  work 
to  a  certain  extent  with  the  Tamil  fishers,  speak  a  Tamil 
patois.  These  support  themselves  by  fishing  and  by  weav- 
ing mats  and  baskets. 

The  total  number  of  Yeddahs  is  now  estimated  at  about 
two  thousand,  but  I  need  scarcely  say  that  Eock  Yeddahs 
do  not  furnish  census  statistics  !  Even  the  Village  Veddahs 
have  a  gipsy-like  love  of  migration,  and  tliink  little  of 
moving,  their  frail  homes  being  simply  constructed  of  mud, 
reeds,  and  palm  leaves.  Efforts  have,  however,  been  made 
to  induce  them  to  settle  by  allotments  of  laud  for  cultivation. 
Wells  were  dug  for  them,  cocoa-palms  and  bread-fruit  trees 
planted,  as  were  also  fields  of  Indian-corn,  kurukkan,  rice, 
and  other  grain,  manioc  and  cassava  roots,  plantains,  gourds, 
and  sundry  vegetables  :  seed  and  agricultural  implements 
were  provided  for  them — in  short,  everything  done  in  the 
endeavour  to  tame  them,  with  the  result  that  a  considerable 


VILLAGE    VEDDAHS.  95 

number  of  them  are  becoming  reconciled  to  a  stationary 
life,  with  some  simple  comforts  around  them. 

In  1838  the  Weslejan  missionaries  at  Batticaloa  began 
to  try  teaching  them,  and  have  continued  the  effort  ever 
since,  with  moderate  success,  a  few  having  embraced  Chris- 
tianity. 

Many  of  those  who  were  formerly  scattered  along  the 
sea-coast  were  persuaded  to  congregate  in  villages  prepared 
for  them  in  forest  clearings  near  the  shores  of  beautiful 
Vendeloos  Bay,  to  the  north  of  Batticaloa.  At  one  of  these 
villages  the  Bishop  had,  in  the  previous  year,  opened  a 
school  for  the  bright,  intelligent  Veddah  children,  and  to 
inspect  this  was  one  of  the  objects  of  the  present  journey. 

So  we  started  from  Chandivelle  at  early  dawn  one  lovely 
morning  and  rowed  about  nine  miles  down  the  Nattoor 
Eiver  to  Vallachena,  two  miles  from  Vendeloos  Bay,  where 
the  river  enters  the  sea.  (The  river  is  quite  salt  even  at 
Chandivelle.)  The  shores  and  many  little  isles  are  clothed 
with  mangrove,  acacia,  and  other  trees,  and  the  scenery  is 
pleasant. 

Many  Veddahs  had  assembled  to  welcome  the  Bishop  on 
his  return,  and  presently  some  women  arrived  and  very 
shyly  came  forward  to  see  their  white  sisters  (probably  the 
first  who  had  visited  them). 

First  the  Bishop  examined  the  school-children,  and  some 
of  the  most  advanced  wrote  sentences  for  us  in  Tamil  on 
the  "  ola "  or  strips  of  prepared  palmyra  leaf,  which  form 
the  substitute  for  paper  not  only  for  copybooks,  but  for 
precious  manuscripts,  though  the  talipot-palm  is  preferred 
for  the  most  valuable  books. 

Then  we  all  squatted  on  the  dry  grass  beneath  a  white 
awning  which  was  suspended  from  the  trees,  and  the  native 


96  BATTICALOA. 

clergyman  read  service  in  Tamil,  selecting  Genesis  i.  and 
St.  Mark  i.  as  the  Lessons.  Then  the  Bishop  spoke  on 
these,  Mr.  Samonader  interpreting. 

After  service  we  begged  for  an  illustration  of  the  far- 
famed  skill  of  the  Veddahs  as  archers  in  the  use  of  their 
little  bows,  which  they  had  brought  with  them.  This, 
however,  proved  a  lamentable  failure,  which  we  charitably 
attributed  to  the  awe  of  our  presence,  but  which  seems  to 
be  generally  the  case  in  presence  of  Europeans,  their  success 
in  bringing  down  game  being  rather  due  to  their  extreme 
caution  in  creeping  close  to  their  quarry  ere  hazarding  an 
arrow. 

In  the  afternoon,  the  Bishop,  being  ill  and  very  tired,  was 
obliged  to  rest,  so  the  native  clergyman  offered  to  row  Miss 
Jermyn  and  me  some  distance  up  the  river  in  a  small  boat 
to  a  Veddah  village  of  palm-leaf  and  mud  huts,  over- 
shadowed by  tall  palm  and  other  trees.  Some  of  the  men's 
huts  were  like  those  erected  in  the  fields  for  the  sentinels 
watching  the  crops,  namely,  two  platforms,  one  above  the 
other,  raised  on  a  scaffolding  of  rough-hewn  poles,  the 
upper  platform  shaded  by  a  light  thatch.  The  regular 
dwelling-houses  are  very  low,  only  about  eight  feet  high, 
and  almost  all  consisting  of  palm-leaf  thatch,  the  upright 
side  walls  being  so  very  low.  The  people  were  quite 
friendly,  but  very  shy. 

When  we  had  gone  round  one  village  (and  of  course 
sketched  a  little),  we  rowed  on  a  little  farther  to  another, 
and  saw  the  people  making  mats,  grinding  grain,  &c. 
(korrakan,  the  small  grain  on  which  the  poorer  villagers 
chiefly  subsist ;  it  is  made  into  hard  uninviting  cakes,  occa- 
sionally compounded  with  a  good  deal  of  dirt). 

We  thought  to  win  a  mother's  heart  by  admiring  her 


DREAD    OF    THE    EVIL    EYE.  97 

baby,  but  found  we  had  done  quite  the  wrong  thing,  as 
admiration  is  supposed  to  imply  covetousness  and  involves 
great  danger  of  the  "evil  eye," — a  baneful  influence  which 
is  as  sorely  dreaded  in  Ceylon  as  in  Italy,  or  indeed  in  most 
other  countries,  including  even  Scotland.^ 

In  almost  all  Eastern  countries  some  device  is  resorted  to 
to  draw  aside  this  malign  influence ;  children  are  loaded 
with  jewels,  or  they  are  purposely  left  with  dirty  faces ; 
the  trappings  of  camels  and  horses  are  adorned  with  cowrie 
shells ;  Mahommedans  suspend  ostrich  eggs  from  the  ceil- 
ings of  their  rooms,  and  here  in  Ceylon  earthenware  jars 
daubed  with  white  paint  are  conspicuously  stuck  on  the 
roof  to  attract  the  eye  which  might  cast  the  dreaded  gla- 
mour on  the  house. 

As  evening  drew  on,  we  started  on  our  homeward  row 
down  the  river,  the  native  clergyman,  as  before,  taking  the 
oars,  till,  as  we  passed  a  village,  the  headman  came  out 
and  remonstrated  on  his  doing  so,  he  being  a  high-caste 
man.  The  argument  was  evidently  effective,  for  the  worthy 
man  appeared  quite  perplexed,  evidently  fearing  to  lose 
influence  with  his  flock.  So  to  solve  the  difficulty  (though 
I  fear,  perhaps,  establishing  a  bad  precedent),  I  took  the 
oars  myself  and  rowed  home — an  easy  task,  being  down- 
stream. 

Though  "  caste  "  distinctions  are  by  no  means  so  obtru- 
sive in  Ceylon  as  on  the  mainland  of  India,  they  are,  never- 
theless (as  I  have  already  proved),  sufficiently  marked  to  be 
the  occasion  of  many  difficulties,  especially  in  the  formation 
of  missionary  schools,  where  almost  naked  little  brown  brats 

^  As  I  noted  vheii  "In  the  Hebrides,"  p.  261.     Certainly,  judp;ing  from 
such  verses  as  Jlark  vii.  '12  and  Proverbs  xxviii.   22,  tlie  "evil  eye  "  must 
also  have  suggested  some  very  detinite  ill  to  the  Jewish  mind. 
VOL.  II.  G 


98  BATTICALOA. 

of  high  caste  sometimes  begin  by  displaying  the  most  amaz- 
ing spirit  of  contempt  and  persecution  towards  tliose  of 
lower  caste. 

The  Singhalese  (as  worshippers  of  Buddlia,  who  entirely 
condemned  caste  distinctions)  ought  to  be  free  from  these 
distinctions,  but  practically  they  make  as  much  of  them  as 
any  Hindoo,  which  is  perhaps  not  to  be  wondered  at,  seeing 
that  they  are  descended  from  the  Brahminical  conquerors 
who,  under  the  leadership  of  Wijayo,  came  from  Bengal 
about  the  year  543  B.C.,  and  overran  Ceylon. 

Then  it  was  that  the  aborigines  fled  for  refuge  to  the 
forests  and  caves  of  the  interior,  and  to  the  outlying  isles  of 
the  north.  The  former  (who  are  supposed  to  be  the  ances- 
tors of  the  Veddahs,  were  thenceforward  known  as  Yakkas, 
or  demons,  because  their  sole  religion  consisted  in  propitiat- 
ing the  powers  of  evil.  To  the  Yakkas  (whether  demons  or 
aborigines)  is  ascribed  everything  of  unknown  origin,  whether 
ruins  of  constructions  which  are  deemed  too  great  to  have 
been  created  by  unaided  human  power,  or  too  rude  to  be 
the  handiwork  of  any  existing  race,  such  as  certain  huge 
dams,  rock-fortresses,  &c. 

Those  who  fled  to  the  extreme  north  rendered  special  wor- 
ship to  the  cobra,  and  were  accordingly  named  the  Nagas,  or 
cobras,  and  the  northern  part  of  the  isle  was  called  Naga- 
dipo,  "  The  Isle  of  Serpents."  (As  I  have  previously  men- 
tioned, on  one  at  least  of  the  small  isles  near  Jaffna  there 
is  still  a  temple  where  live  cobras  are  reverently  tended  by 
priests  and  priestesses,  and  receive  devout  worship.) 

To  this  day,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Singhalese  recognise 
the  hideous  and  filthy  Veddahs  to  be  worthy  of  all  honour, 
as  being  of  very  high  caste;  so  much  so,  that  it  would  be  no 
disgrace  for  a  woman  of  good  social  position  to  marry  one  of 


THE    OUTCAST    RODIYAS.  99 

them,  should  her  strange  taste  incline  her  to  do  so.  But 
on  the  other  hand,  the  most  cruel  and  indelible  disgrace 
that  could  possibly  be  inflicted  on  a  high-caste  woman  was 
to  give  her  to  an  outcast  Eodiya  (or  Eodilla),  a  singularly 
beautiful  race  (at  least  both  men  and  women  are  so  in  youth), 
who  nevertheless  have  ever  been  regarded  as  the  lowest  scum, 
their  name  even  being  derived  from  rodda,  "  filth." 

Under  the  Kandyan  kings  every  phase  of  ignominy  that 
could  be  devised  was  heaped  on  these  poor  people,  who  aie 
said  to  have  been  degraded  for  ever  and  ever  because  one  of 
their  ancestors  having,  on  one  occasion,  about  two  thousand 
years  ago,  failed  in  procuring  venison  for  the  king's  table, 
substituted  the  flesh  of  a  nice  fat  baby,  of  which  his  Majesty 
partook  with  much  relish.  But  the  crime  was  discovered, 
and  the  whole  clan  of  the  miscreant  shared  in  his  disgrace, 
and  thenceforward  all  their  posterity  were  ceaselessly  perse- 
cuted and  oppressed  till  English  rule  freed  them. 

They  were  forbidden  to  enter  a  Buddhist  temple  or  any 
village ;  they  might  not  till  the  soil,  or  draw  water  from  a 
well,  or  even  cross  a  ferry ;  even  the  stream  on  which  their 
shadow  fell  was  defiled  for  a  while ;  they  must  get  off  the 
path  to  avoid  the  possibility  of  any  one  brushing  against 
them,  and  so  being  polluted ;  they  were  compelled  to  salute 
ever]/  one  by  raising  their  joined  hands  above  their  head  and 
then  making  lowly  obeisance  ;  men  and  women  alike  were 
forbidden  to  wear  any  clothing  below  the  knee  or  above  the 
waist ;  and  they  might  not  even  build  a  decent  cottage  with 
a  wall  on  each  side,  but  only  hovels  constructed  of  palm- 
leaf  hurdles  leaning  against  a  back-wall  of  mud.  A  curious 
detail  of  petty  but  very  real  persecution  was  the  prohibi- 
tion to  divide  their  burden  into  two  bundles,  hanging  from 
each  end  of  the  "  pingo  "  or  shoulder-yoke,  as  is  done  by  all 


100  BATTICALOA. 

other  natives,   in  Ceylon  as  in  China ;   the  Rodiyas  might 
only  carry  one  bundle,  and  so  lost  all  balance. 

They  were  only  allowed  to  earn  their  bread  by  guarding 
the  crops  from  the  ravages  of  wild  beasts,  or  by  the  polluting 
work  of  burying  the  carcases  of  dead  cattle,  of  whose  raw 
hides  they  manufactured  strong  ropes  for  binding  elephants. 
Once  these  were  made,  any  caste  might  handle  them  freely. 
They  were  compelled  to  furnish  all  Government  leather-work, 
also  they  might  kill  monkeys  and  prepare  their  skins  for 
covering  native  drums.  For  a  member  of  another  caste  to 
touch  a  Rodiya  was  accounted  such  pollution,  that  when  in 
the  early  days  of  British  domination  it  was  necessary  to 
arrest  some  of  them  on  a  charge  of  murder,  the  native 
police  refused  to  lay  hands  on  them,  but  offered  to  shoot 
them  down  from  a  distance.  This  was  strictly  correct  from 
a  native  point  of  view,  any  man  being  at  liberty  to  shoot  a 
Rodiya  as  freely  as  though  he  were  a  noxious  animal. 

Any  Government  orders  or  other  communications  to  be 
made  to  Rodiyas  were  generally  sent  by  charcoal-burners,  as 
being  the  lowest  of  all  recognised  castes,  and  the  messenger, 
if  possible,  delivered  it  across  a  flowing  stream,  to  save  his 
own  respectability.  Yet,  as  they  were  deemed  to  be  fortune- 
tellers and  dealers  in  witchcraft,  doubtless  many  consulted 
them  on  the  sly. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  true  origin  of  these  beautiful 
outcasts,  it  is  certain  that  their  ranks  have  been  recruited  in 
later  ages  by  whole  families  of  the  highest  castes,  who  have 
been  degraded  to  the  rank  of  Rodiyas  as  a  punishment  for 
treason,  sacrilege,  or  other  grievous  crimes. 

As  they  were  forbidden  to  till  the  soil,  it  was  enacted 
that  in  time  of  harvest  each  cultivator  should  bestow  on 
them  u  small  gift  of  rice,  and  verv  small  it  sometimes  was. 


LOWER   AND    LOWER   STILL  !  101 

On  one  occasion,  however,  a  stingy  man  was  paid-out  for 
having  given  a  Eodiya  an  exceptionally  small  dole.  The 
angry  man  walked  up  to  the  threshold  floor  and  scattered  it 
broadcast  over  the  grain  which  was  there  heaped  up,  thereby 
polluting  the  whole.  Happily  British  rule  was  firmly  estab- 
lished, so  the  infuriated  farmer  dared  not  shoot  the  outcast, 
as  he  wished  to  do.  He  was  recommended  to  sue  him  before 
a  law-court,  but  this  he  deemed  quite  too  derogatory  to  his 
own  dignity,  so  the  Eodiya  escaped. 

Of  course,  under  British  rule  caste  distinctions  are  nomi- 
nally ignored,  so  the  Eodiyas  now  have  better  houses  and 
some  home  comforts ;  some  even  own  small  farms  and  a 
few  head  of  cattle,  but  the  old  influence  asserts  itself,  and 
their  proud  Kandyan  neighbours  make  them  mark  their 
cattle  by  hanging  round  their  necks  a  cocoa-nut-shell  fas- 
tened with  a  strip  of  leather,  and  in  many  petty  ways  con- 
trive to  remind  them  of  their  inferiority. 

(When  Ernst  Haeckel,  the  naturalist,  was  living  in  the 
rest-house  at  Belligama,  pursuing  the  study  of  marine  zoology, 
his  devoted  assistant  was  a  beautiful  Eodiya  lad,  to  whose 
unfailing  zeal  and  dexterity  in  everything  he  bears  the 
highest  testimony.  The  amazement  of  the  villagers  was 
unbounded  when  this  despised  outcast  was  promoted  to  such 
honour  as  that  of  being  the  right-hand  of  the  man  of  won- 
drous scientific  knowledge,  and  the  grief  of  the  poor  lad 
when  his  employer  departed  may  well  be  imagined.) 

Strange  to  say,  low  in  the  social  scale  as  these  poor 
people  rank,  two  castes  rank  so  much  lower  that  the  Eodiyas 
refuse  to  have  anything  to  say  to  them.  These  are  the 
Hanomoreyos  of  Uva  (manufacturers  of  betel-boxes)  and  the 
Ambetteyos  or  barbers.  What  they  can  have  done  worse 
than   inveifrlins  a   kiivj:  to   eat   human    flesh  no   one   can 


102  BATTICALOA. 

imagine.  Just  fancy  entrusting  your  face  and  head  to  be 
shaved  by  a  man  whose  very  touch  at  other  times  would  be 
pollution !  The  village  dhobies  or  washermen,  here  as  in 
India,  are  another  example  of  how  the  highest  castes  de- 
pend on  the  low  castes  for  their  cleansing  and  beautifying. 
Strano-e  to  say,  all  castes,  even  the  lowest,  employ  the 
dhobie,  and  would  consider  it  quite  wrong  to  do  their  own 
wasliing ! 

One  singular  duty  of  the  chief  dhobie  in  each  district  is 
that  of  preparing  temporary  bungalows  for  the  reception 
of  such  officials  as  are  entitled  thereto  in  out-of-the-way 
places  where  rest-houses  are  not  available,  and  we  were 
now  entering  on  a  series  of  marches  right  into  the  interior 
of  the  isle,  where  we  were  entirely  dependent  on  these  for 
our  night  quarters.  While  travelling  with  the  Governor,  I 
had  seen  "  mushroom  villages "  of  such  forest  bungalows 
provided  for  all  the  suite,  albeit  to  be  occupied  for  one 
night  only. 

Of  course,  the  preparations  for  the  Bishop  and  his  party 
were  on  a  much  smaller  scale,  though  answering  their  pur- 
pose equally  well.  These  huts  are  lightly  constructed  of 
bamboos,  reeds,  and  plaited  palm  leaves  or  "  cadjans  "  on  a 
framework  of  wood,  and  the  interior  is  all  hvmg  with  white 
calico.  This  is  called  "  the  honour  of  the  white  cloth," 
which  is  accorded  to  all  persons  to  whom  special  honour  is 
due.  At  first  I  marvelled  how  so  much  white  calico  could 
be  obtained  in  the  heart  of  the  forest,  but  we  soon  dis- 
covered that  each  strip  was  the  spare  garment  of  some 
villager.  The  village  washerman  knows  exactly  who  is 
possessed  of  such  extra  property,  and  he  goes  round  borrow- 
ing, and  so  the  temporary  guest-house  looks  delightfully 
cool  and  clean  to  welcome  the  tired  travellers. 


TEMPOKARY    HUTS.  103 

Within  an  hour  of  their  departure  the  huts  are  demo- 
lished ;  perhaps  the  woodwork  and  palm-leaf  cadjans,  and 
certainly  all  the  white  cloths,  are  restored  to  their  proper 
owners,  probably  with  an  infinitesimal  share  of  the  vale 
bestowed  on  the  dhobie. 

Sometimes,  however,  mischievous  monkeys  begin  the  work 
of  demolition  without  waiting  for  the  departure  of  the  tra- 
vellers. I  specially  remember  one  day  when  we  returned 
to  our  grass-thatched  home  on  the  embankment  of  the  great 
tanks  at  Pollanarua,  where  we  halted  for  some  days,  and 
found  a  whole  troop  of  monkeys  on  the  roof  in  wildest  glee, 
tearing  up  all  the  thatch  ! 

Of  course,  in  such  a  hut  the  floor  is  simply  dry  earth  (or 
in  some  cases  very  wet  earth),  but  for  such  an  expedition 
a  traveller's  luggage  must  include  a  roll  of  taliput  palm-leaf 
mats,  in  addition  to  a  coolie-load  of  simple  bedding,  pillow, 
mosquito-net,  &c. 

Of  course,  travelling  on  these  unbeaten  tracks,  where  roads 
are  still  unknown,  was  specially  interesting ;  day  by  day  we 
rode  by  jungle-paths,  perhaps  following  the  slow  footsteps 
of  some  dignified  headman  who  was  proud  to  act  as  the 
Bishop's  guide.  Sometimes  we  followed  the  course  of  fine 
rivers  overshadowed  by  magnificent  trees,  but  in  the  month 
of  September  the  streams  were  well-nigh  dry,  and  we  were 
able  to  ford  them  without  difficulty.  The  one  exception 
was  when  we  came  to  the  broad,  beautiful  Mahavelli-Ganga, 
the  largest  river  in  Ceylon,  to  which  I  had  already  done 
homage  where  it  flows  round  the  mountain  capital  of 
Kandy. 

We  halted  for  a  delicious  rest  beneath  one  of  the  great 
trees  overhanging  the  wide  glassy  stream,  while  the  horses 
waded  and  swam  across.     Then  we  followed  by  boat,  and 


104  BATTICALOA. 

again  halted  on  the  farther  shore  in  a  green  glade  where 
the  cool  moist  grass  had  attracted  a  swarm  of  gorgeous 
butterflies,  which  floated  on  their  fairy-like  wings  as  though 
holding  a  festive  assembly.  One  family  of  these  lovely 
fairies  has  large  velvety  black  wings  spotted  with  vivid 
crimson ;  another,  which  measures  six  inches  across  the 
wings,  has  upper-wings  of  black  velvet,  but  under-wings  of 
glossy  yellow  satin. 

All  insects  were  not  equally  attractive.  "VVe  found  minute 
eye-flies  and  mosquitos  especially  irritating,  nowhere  more 
so  than  at  the  huts  where  we  had  spent  the  previous 
night,  close  to  two  ancient  tanks,  one  quite  and  the  other 
partially  dried  up.  These  huts  were  literally  swarming 
with  long-legged  spiders,  thousands  of  them  clustered  to- 
gether, like  bunches  of  black  hair.  Those  were  not  pleasant 
quarters,  but  the  natives  were  very  kind,  and  brought  most 
welcome  gifts  of  milk,  which,  ho^Yever,  we  felt  sorry  to  be 
obliged  to  accept,  as  of  course  the  drought  affected  even  their 
supply  of  drinking-water,  which  is  at  all  times  a  difficulty, 
and  at  many  places  where  we  halted  it  was  so  foul  that  it 
had  to  be  boiled  and  filtered  twice  over  ere  we  dared  to  use 
it.  But  under  any  circumstances  we  were  strictly  forbidden 
ever  to  drink  a  drop  of  water  which  had  not  been  both  boiled 
and  filtered  once.  Where  it  was  obviously  impure,  obedi- 
ence was  comparatively  easy ;  but  where  it  looked  clear  and 
sparkling,  and  we  were  parched  W'ith  thirst,  we  were  some- 
times sorely  tempted,  though  well  aware  of  the  necessity  of 
strict  obedience,  bad  water  being  the  prolific  cause  of  divers 
diseases,  such  as  fever  and  dysentery,  in  the  mere  traveller, 
but  too  often,  in  the  case  of  poor  villagers  compelled  to  use 
it  habitually,  it  is  in  a  great  measure  responsible  for  the 
far  more  terrible  diseases  known  as  Beri-beri  and  "  parangi," 


A   SIMPLE    VILLAGE    FILTER.  105 

resembling  leprosy.  Perhaps  the  most  blessed  result  of  the 
recent  restoration  of  so  many  of  the  great  tanks  is  that, 
■with  the  abundant  supply  of  good  water,  and  consequently 
of  wholesome  grain,  this  awful  malady  has  almost  disap- 
peared from  the  districts  thus  favoured. 

The  natives  purify  drinking-water  for  their  own  use  by 
rubbing  the  inside  of  the  earthen  water-vessel  with  certain 
seeds  which  have  the  virtue  of  attracting  to  themselves  all 
noxious  properties,  and  in  five  minutes  all  impurities  sink 
to  the  bottom,  leaving  the  water  clear.  One  of  the  seeds 
is  a  small  nut  called  Ambu-prasa-dana,  the  other  is  the 
fruit  of  a  large  forest  tree,  the  Ingenni-gedia.  It  is  a  gela- 
tinous berry  in  a  woody  outer  case. 

A  good  many  years  ago  an  admirable  village  filter  was 
invented  by  G.  W.  K.  Campbell,^  consisting  simply  of  three 
large  wicker  baskets,  each  one  foot  smaller  than  the  last, 
the  space  between  the  two  outermost  being  tightly  packed 
(below  and  on  every  side)  with  clean  sand ;  the  space 
between  the  next  two  being  similarly  packed  with  charcoal. 
This  was  sunk  in  a  foul  village  tank,  leaving  the  surface 
above  water,  and  in  a  little  while  the  innermost  basket 
filled  with  pure  clear  water,  whence  all  comers  might  draw. 
Simple  as  is  this  contrivance,  the  natives,  however,  gene- 
rally prefer  their  own  ways,  and  the  use  of  the  purifying 
seeds  which  Nature  provides  all  ready  for  them. 

I  am  told  that  in  preparing  such  a  filter,  vegetable  char- 
coal, freshly  burned  and  powdered,  suffices  (with  sand  and 
gravel)  to  remove  vegetable  matter,  but  that  only  charcoal 
of  animal  substance  can  remove  animal  impurity.  Whether 
this  is  true,  however,  I  cannot  say. 

I  may  mention,  as  a  hint  for  thirsty  travellers,  the  advan- 

1  For  many  years  Inspector-Geueral  of  Police  in  Ceylon. 


106  BATTICALOA. 

tage  of  carrying  bottles  of  cold  tea  for  use  on  the  march, 
each  bottle  being  wrapped  in  a  wet  towel,  the  evapora- 
tion from  which  in  the  burning  sun  secures  most  welcome 
coolness. 

Having  crossed  the  "  Great  Sandy  Elver,"  a  short  beau- 
tiful ride  brought  us  to  our  bourne,  namely,  the  ruins  of 
the  ancient  city  of  Pollanarua,  where  we  found  that  a 
group  of  most  delightful  huts  had  been  erected  for  us 
beneath  the  cool  shade  of  large  trees  growing  actually  on 
the  embankment  of  Topa-Wewa,  the  great  artificial  lake,  on 
whose  still  waters  floated  the  loveliest  waterlilies,  and  across 
which  we  looked  away  to  the  lovely  blue  ranges  of  the  far- 
distant  Matale  hills,  rising  above  the  wide  expanse  of  dark 
forest  which  encompasses  the  lake  on  every  side. 


I 


107 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

POLLANAKUA. 

King  Prakrama  Bahu — Small-pox — Rain  charms — Devil-bird — Legend 
— Inscription  on  the  stone  book — Temple  of  the  Tooth — Divers 
temples,  relic-shrines,  baths  —  Porcupine  trap  —  Rock-temple — 
Gigantic  images — Intercourse  with  China — Minery  Lake — Oath- 
stone — Temple  of  the  tank  gods — Circles  of  pottery— Crocodiles — 
Kantalay  tank — Tamblegam  oysters. 

Although  Pollanarua  (or  Topare,  as  the  modern  village  is 
now  commonly  called  by  the  islanders,  from  Topa-Wewa,  the 
artificial  lake  on  which  it  stands)  is  less  interesting  to  the 
antiquarian  than  Anuradhapura,  from  the  fact  that  its  glory 
as  a  city  only  commenced  when  that  of  the  latter  had  waned, 
to  less  critical  eyes  it  is  equally  amazing,  as  being  a  mighty 
city  now  literally  buried  beneath  many  feet  of  soil,  and  all 
covered  with  green  turf  and  jungle  ;  the  busy  streets  and 
their  inhabitants  have  alike  disappeared  beneath  the  sod, 
and  the  whole  is,  as  it  were,  one  vast  cemetery  for  houses 
and  men. 

Only  here  and  there  stately  ruins  remain  to  tell  of  the 
vanished  glories  ;  and  though  these  are  on  the  whole  less 
impressive  than  those  of  Anuradhapura,  in  that  the  im- 
perishable stone  sculptures  have  in  many  cases  been  replaced 
by  brickwork    and  very  fine   stucco,  the   general  effect  of 


108  POLLANARUA. 

the  place  is  more  attractive ;  there  are  more  picturesque 
"  bits "  to  tempt  an  artist's  brush,  owing  perhaps  to  its 
utter  desolation,  and  to  the  fact  that  it  has  as  yet  scarcely 
been  touched  by  the  marks  of  restoration  and  excavation. 

The  beautiful  lake  Topa-Wewa,  which  was  originally  fifteen 
miles  in  circumference,  was  formed  by  King  Upatissa  II., 
who  reigned  a.d.  368  ;  but  not  till  a.d.  650  do  we  hear  of 
a  royal  palace  having  been  built  here  by  King  Sri  San- 
gabo  II.  Both  these  were  monarchs  of  the  Sula-Wansae  or 
"  Lesser  Dynasty,"  so  called  in  Singhalese  records  in  uncom- 
plimentary contrast  to  the  grand  monarchs  of  the  Surya- 
Wansae  or  Solar  Dynasty  (also  called  the  Maha-Wansae  or 
Powerful  race),  which  had  so  long  reigned  at  Anuradhapura. 

That  ancient  capital  was  not  forsaken  in  favour  of  Pol- 
lanarua  till  about  a.d.  769,  when,  weary  of  battling  with 
continual  invasions  of  the  Malabars,  the  Singhalese  monarchs 
moved  south-eastward  to  this  more  inaccessible  district,  and 
created  a  new  city,  more  beautiful  than  that  which  they 
had  abandoned,  with  temples  and  palaces  which  awakened 
the  wonder  of  all  comers,  while  the  abundant  water-supply 
was  secured  by  the  formation  of  enormous  tanks,  one  of 
which,  the  great  artificial  Lake  Minery,  is  twenty-two  miles 
in  circumference.  Even  now,  in  its  neglected  and  ruinous 
condition,  that  is  its  size  in  wet  seasons,  although  in  years 
of  great  drought  it  now  evaporates  to  a  lakelet  barely  four 
miles  in  circumference. 

Of  course  the  Malabar  invaders  soon  made  their  way 
to  the  new  city,  and  the  same  weary  struggle  continued  for 
many  generations. 

This  medigeval  capital  attained  its  climax  of  wealth  and 
power  in  the  period  between  a.d.  1153  and  1240,  during 
the  reigns  of  the  mighty  King  Prakrama  Bahu  and  of  his 


KIXG   PEAKRAMA   BAHU.  109 

successor,  Kirti  Nissanga.  The  former  ranks  above  all 
others  in  the  love  and  reverence  of  the  Singhalese,  as  having 
been  pre-eminent  in  chivalry,  in  piety,  in  wisdom,  and  in 
power.  He  had  mastered  the  various  sciences  and  accom- 
plishments of  the  age,  including  medicine,  logic,  poetry,  and 
music,  aud  the  training  of  the  elephant  and  of  the  horse. 

His  reign,  which  continued  for  thirty-three  years,  began 
amid  civil  war,  from  which  his  energy  and  popularity 
brought  him  forth  "  sole  king  of  Lanka,"  ^  and  secured  such 
peace  in  his  own  dominions  as  enabled  him  to  accomplish 
an  incredible  amount  of  work,  while  at  the  same  time  his 
warlike  nature  found  means  to  wage  successful  war  against 
the  kings  of  Cambodia,  Pandya,  and  Chola  (the  two  latter 
in  Southern  India).  Each  of  these  had  given  him  cause  of 
offence,  for  which  each  was  forced  to  make  ample  reparation, 
and  all  three  became  tributary  to  Lanka. 

Whatever  this  large-minded  king  undertook  was  carried 
out  on  a  scale  so  magnificent  as  to  be  only  rendered  possible 
by  the  employment  of  the  unpaid  labour  of  the  people.  I 
have  already  referred  to  those  stupendous  irrigation  works, 
including  1470  tanks,  including  lakes  so  great  as  to  be 
commonly  called  "  the  seas  of  Prakrama."  Besides  these, 
he  restored  about  as  many  more  which  had  fallen  into  dis- 
repair during  the  prolonged  wars,  and  made  or  repaired 
upwards  of  4000  canals  and  watercourses. 

While  thus  furnishing  his  people  with  an  abundant  water- 
supply  and  securing  the  means  of  raising  plentiful  crops, 
he  built  or  restored  innumerable  temples,  relic-shrines,  and 
houses  for  Buddhist  priests  in  every  part  of  the  Isle,  which 
was  the  more  remarkable  considering  the  difficulties  of  com- 
munication in  those  days. 

'  The  ancient  name  of  Ceylon. 


110  POLLANARUA. 

Amongst  other  meritorious  works  enumerated  in  the 
national  chronicles  were  the  erection  of  101  dagobas, 
476  images  of  Buddha,  and  the  building  of  300  rooms 
for  the  reception  of  images,  besides  repairing  6100  such 
rooms.  Besides  all  the  temples  which  he  built,  he  made 
31  rock-temples,  with  tanks,  baths,  and  gardens  for  the 
priests,  while  for  the  accommodation  of  travelling  priests 
he  built  230  lodgings,  with  50  halls  for  preaching,  and 
192  rooms  in  which  to  offer  flowers.  He  also  built  230 
halls  for  the  use  of  strangers. 

At  Pollanarua  itself  everything  was  done  that  could 
enhance  the  beauty  of  the  city,  and  very  lovely  it  must 
have  been,  rising  from  the  brink  of  the  great  lake,  which 
reflected  its  stately  palaces,  temples,  and  dagobas,  coated 
with  the  cream-coloured  cement  so  like  polished  marble, 
and  all  the  gilded  spires  and  cupolas  and  golden  umbrellas. 
And  to  right  and  left  of  the  city  lay  outstretched  a  broad 
expanse  of  richly  cultivated  land  and  verdant  pasturage, 
with  groves  of  flowering  trees  and  palms  and  clumps  of 
tamarinds,  casting  the  coolest  of  all  shade. 

Prakrama  encompassed  the  city  with  a  strong  wall,  en- 
closing an  area  about  thirty  miles  long  by  twelve  in  width, 
and  at  the  four  great  gates  he  erected  alms-houses  for  the 
poor  and  hospitals  for  the  sick,  whom  he  visited  in  person, 
giving  them  the  benefit  of  his  own  medical  skill. 

Within  the  city  were  noble  streets,  with  halls  for  music 
and  dancing,  schools  and  libraries,  public  baths  and  pleasant 
gardens.  Prakrama's  own  palace  was  seven  storeys  high, 
and,  according  to  the  chronicles,  contained  four  thousand 
rooms,  supported  by  hundreds  of  stone  columns,  besides 
outer  halls  and  staircases. 

Stranofe  indeed  it  seems  to  think  of  so  fair  a  citv,  after 


"the  gentle  steps  of  swift  decay."       hi 

reigning  as  capital  of  the  Isle  for  five  hundred  years,  being 
in  its  turn  abandoned  to  utter  desolation.  The  only  pro- 
bable solution  of  the  mystery  is,  that  in  the  course  of  the 
incessant  wars  which  ravaged  the  Isle  in  the  centuries 
succeeding  that  of  the  great  king,  enemies  must  have 
devised  means  for  cutting  off  the  water-supplies  by  divert- 
ing the  feeding  rivers,  and  so  the  whole  irrigation  system 
would  be  destroyed,  and  the  millions  whose  very  existence 
depended  on  the  rice-crops  would  thus  be  suddenly  reduced 
to  starvation,  and  either  died  of  famine  or  were  compelled 
to  abandon  a  district  which  could  no  longer  yield  them 
food. 

Once  the  inhabitants  were  gone,  the  downfall  of  the 
city  would  be  swift.  Legions  of  white  ants  would  quickly 
reduce  the  woodwork  to  powder,  insidious  parasitic  plants 
would  take  root  in  many  a  crevice,  and  rapidly  developing 
into  great  trees,  would  rend  the  walls,  and  herds  of  wild 
elephants  would  do  their  part  in  hastening  the  downfall  of 
tottering  buildings ;  then  would  follow  the  amazingly  rapid 
growth  of  thorny  jungle,  which  even  in  two  or  three  years 
so  effectually  overruns  all  abandoned  land,  and  here  the 
elephants  and  too  luxuriant  vegetation  have  reigned  un- 
disturbed for  upwards  of  six  centuries. 

Even  the  sparse  population  which  remained,  contriving 
to  subsist  in  dependence  on  the  precarious  rainfall,  were 
well-nigh  swept  away  by  a  terrible  visitation  of  small-pox 
in  the  first  year  of  the  present  century.  This  infliction 
being  deemed  the  special  amusement  of  one  of  the  god- 
desses, it  is  supposed  that  any  attempt  to  stay  its  progx-ess 
would  be  specially  displeasing  to  her ;  so  no  precautions 
whatever  are  taken  (or  rather  would  not  be,  were  they 
not  made  compulsory),  and  in  that  year  its  ravages  were 


112  POLLANARUA. 

such  that  the  great  district  of  Tamankaduwa,  of  which  Pol- 
lanarua  is  the  capital,  was  literally  depopulated,  and  now 
only  averages  five  inhabitants  to  the  square  mile — 5000  to 
1000  square  miles;  and  in  all  that  vast  desolate  district  of 
640,000  acres,  only  about  2800  acres  are  now  under  cultiva- 
tion !  The  people  subsist  by  hunting  and  chena-farraing ; 
the  former  rapidly  leading  to  the  extinction  of  game,  and 
the  latter  cruelly  destructive  of  timber. 

Happily  for  land  and  people,  the  days  of  tank  restoration 
are  at  hand,  and  the  same  good  work  which  has  brought 
new  life  to  Anuradhapura  and  the  great  district  of  Nuwara- 
kalawiya,  is  about  to  be  wrought  in  this  hungry  and  thirsty 
region  around  Topar^,  not  merely  in  restoring  the  eight 
ancient  lakes,  sixty  of  the  smaller  tanks,  several  hundred 
village  tanks,  and  the  general  system  of  irrigation  canals, 
but  in  the  still  more  necessary  formation  of  head-works  to 
regulate  the  overflow  from  the  rivers  in  times  of  flood. 

For  it  is  by  these  ungoverned  outpourings  from  the  great 
rivers,  Mahavelli-Ganga  and  Amban-Ganga,  even  more  than 
by  the  lack  of  a  regular  water-supply,  that  the  rice-lands 
are  rendered  desolate,  and  it  will  tax  the  skill  of  the  ablest 
engineers  to  avert  these  oft-recurring  dangers. 

At  the  time  of  our  visit  to  Pollanarua,  the  land  was 
suffering  from  a  prolonged  drought,  the  tanks  being  dryer 
than  they  had  been  for  thirty  years ;  fields  and  jungle  were 
alike  parched  and  burnt  up,  even  the  hardy  shrubs  all 
scorched  and  shrivelled  by  the  fierce  sun,  and  all  the  tender 
green  of  ferns  and  mosses  had  utterly  vanished,  except  in 
favoured  patches  within  reach  of  some  leak  in  a  tank,  or 
near  the  river-banks.  For  days  and  days  together  we 
scarcely  saw  a  blossom,  save  the  scentless  scarlet  ixora, 
whose  very  loveliness  at  last  became  hateful,  for  it  made 


AT    HOME    ON    THE    EMBANKMENT.  113 

us  hot  to  look  at  it,  especially  as  we  well  knew  what 
colonies  of  vicious  red  ants  made  their  home  amont;  its 
blossoms. 

In  these  seasons  of  sore  drought  the  people  of  this 
district  have  recourse  to  sundry  charms  to  obtain  rain,  one 
of  which  is  that  they  clear  the  jungle  from  a  ridge  whereon 
stands  a  dagoba,  to  which  they  then  repair  and  pour  out 
offerings  of  milk,  which  they  say  invariably  produce  the 
desired  boon.  Apparently  they  deem  it  unwise  to  try  this 
remedy  too  often ! 

We  had  suffered  considerably  in  the  last  few  days  from 
the  great  heat,  but  all  was  forgotten  now  in  the  delight  of 
finding  ourselves  in  such  cool  and  pleasant  quarters,  actually 
on  the  embankment  of  the  lake,  and  thus  sufficiently  raised 
to  command  a  perfect  view,  and  also  to  catch  every  breath 
of  air  that  rustled  through  the  foliage.  It  was  a  joy  even 
to  be  at  rest  under  the  cool  shade  of  wide-spreading  trees, 
looking  down  on  beds  of  rosy  lotus-blossoms,  and  on 
humbler  blue  and  white  lilies,  which  floated  on  the  blue 
waters. 

Though  disturbed  b)-  the  preparations  for  our  coming, 
many  aquatic  birds  soon  returned  to  their  homes  in  the 
waving  reeds  and  tall  flowering  water-grasses,  and  some- 
times a  flock  of  long-legged  white  cranes  or  of  rosy 
flamingoes,  or  even  a  familiar  grey  heron,  would  alight  and 
stalk  solemnly  along  the  shallows. 

A\''hen  the  sun  began  to  lower  we  went  off'  to  explore  the 
wonders  of  the  silent  city,  returning  to  our  quarters  beside 
the  lake  in  time  to  watch  the  glories  of  sunset  colouring 
and  of  the  gorgeous  afterglow,  till  it  faded  away  in  the 
darkness. 

What  a  standing  mystery  it  is  !     What  can  there  be  about 
Vol.  it.  H 


114  POLLANARUA. 

the  horizon  to  act  the  part  of  so  wondrous  a  prism,  that, 
for  a  few  short  moments  at  the  outgoing  of  morning  and 
evening,  earth,  lake,  and  sky  should  thus  be  bathed  in 
rainbow  colours  ? 

How  beautiful  those  nights  were,  with  the  brilliancy  of 
glittering  starlight  and  the  various  voices  of  the  forest, 
which  now  and  again  broke  the  utter  stillness — the  whirring 
of  night-moths,  the  rustling  of  grasses,  the  chirping  of  grass- 
hoppers, the  croaking  of  frogs,  the  querulous  yapping  of 
jackals,  the  hooting  of  owls,  of  which  there  are  several 
varieties,  from  the  beautifully-marked  brown  wood-owl,  and 
the  rich  orange-buff  screech-owl,  which  cries  like  an  infant 
wailing  in  distress,  to  a  delightful  little  creature  peculiar 
to  Ceylon  (Scops  minutus),  which  is  only  six  inches  long, 
and  has  a  little  feeble  cry.  It  is  brown  and  grey,  and  has 
yellow  eyes  and  a  borny  feather-crest ;  it  feeds  on  bats  and 
tiny  birds.  But  the  one  voice  which  I  did  wish  to  hear 
was  silent,  namely,  that  of  the  far-famed  devil-bird,  or 
Guamala,  as  the  natives  call  it,  whose  excruciating  cry  has 
been  so  often  described,  but  whose  identity  has  ever  been 
under  dispute.  Even  Sir  Samuel  Baker,  who  says  he 
heard  it  continually,  never  succeeded  in  catching  sight  of 
the  bird.  That  cry  is  sometimes  like  the  shout  of  a  man 
in  distress — a  shriek  of  torture,  followed  by  a  gurgling 
sound  as  if  a  victim  were  being  strangled ;  then  follow 
piercing  screams  and  convulsive  cries  agonising  to  hear,  so 
suggestive  are  they  of  murder ;  then  follows  a  silence  as  of 
death,  perhaps  broken  once  more  by  dismal  wails  and  pitiful 
cries. 

It  is  a  voice  so  very  eerie  that  it  is  said  no  one  can  hear 
it  without  a  shudder,  and  all  natives  hold  it  in  superstitious 
horror,  believing  it  to  be   a  warning  of  death  ;   and  doubt- 


LEGEND    OF    THE    DEVIL-BIRD.  115 

less  tliis  awe  has  been  inteusifiecl  by  the  mystery  as  to  what 
creature  utters  these  horrid  sounds.  At  last,  however, 
Mr.  Stephens  of  Gampola  has  succeeded  in  shooting  a  bird 
in  the  very  act  of  emitting  these  unearthly  yells,  and  the 
victim  proved  to  be  the  forest  eagle-owl  (Bubo  Nqmlcnsis), 
which  is  known  to  the  Singhalese  as  Lohu  Bakamuna,  and 
to  the  Tamils  as  Peria  Anda.  It  is  a  larere  stron^f  bird  of 
beautiful  plumage — another  proof  that  fine  feathers  do  not 
secure  melodious  voices ! 

The  vSinghalese  account  for  a  bird  being  endowed  with 
so  agonising  a  cry  by  a  legend  of  how  a  wicked  man,  being 
angry  with  his  wife  and  child,  took  the  child  to  a  wood  and 
murdered  it.  Then  taking  some  of  its  flesh,  he  returned 
home,  and  sending  his  wife  out  on  an  errand,  he  popped 
the  flesh  into  a  curry  which  she  was  preparing.  Unheeding 
the  child's  absence,  the  woman  presently  ate  of  the  curry, 
when  the  inhuman  father  told  her  what  he  had  done. 
Crazed  with  horror,  the  unhappy  mother  fled  to  the  jungle 
and  there  destroyed  herself.  In  her  next  transmigration 
her  soul  passed  into  a  "  devil-bird,"  which  thenceforward 
lias  made  night  hideous  with  its  cries  of  anguish. 

If  night  in  the  forest  is  beautiful,  how  entrancing  is 
the  delicious  freshness  of  the  ti'opical  dawn,  when  the  stars 
pale  in  the  clear  vault  of  heaven !  Then  the  hills  stand  in 
sombre  purple  against  a  primrose-coloured  sky,  and  suddenly 
the  darkness  is  replaced  by  a  flood  of  pure  dazzling  light ; 
all  living  things  in  the  forest  awaken,  and  a  thousand  var}^- 
ing  notes  blend  in  one  harmonious  chorus.  It  is  so  odd 
to  hear  the  deep  bass  supplied  by  a  booming  note  not  to 
be  distinguished  from  that  of  the  great  monkey,  but  which 
is  really  produced  by  a  most  gentle  dove. 

How  ethereal  were  the  lovely  violet  hues  of  the  distant 


lie  POLLANARUA. 

mountains  in  that  early  dawn,  ciiaugiug  so  rapidly  from 
purple  to  pink,  and  then  the  mellow  glow  of"  the  risen  sun 
casting  clear  dark  shadows  where  a  moment  before  all  was 
even-toned,  and  bringing  out  the  rich  greens  of  the  great 
trees  and  of  the  rank  succulent  herbage  all  round  the 
muddy  shores  of  the  lake,  the  "  moist  and  reedy  grass " 
fringing  the  still  waters,  which  form  quiet  little  bays  and 
inlets  separated  by  wooded  peninsulas  ! 

Our  little  regiment  of  coolies,  composed  of  Moors,  Hindoos, 
Buddhists,  and  Veddahs,  were  camped  on  the  brink  of  the 
lake  beneath  the  cool  shade  of  overhanging  trees,  and  the 
blue  smoke  of  their  camp-fires  added  a  picturesque  touch 
to  the  scene. 

The  embankment  on  which  our  huts  were  built,  and 
which  is  the  dam  to  which  the  lake  owes  its  existence,  is 
about  sixty  feet  wide  on  the  summit,  and  about  two  miles 
in  length.  The  whole  was  faced  with  hewn  stone,  but  the 
roots  of  large  trees  have  dislodged  the  great  blocks,  and 
overthrown  this  massive  masonry. 

We  were  close  to  the  ruins  of  Prakrama's  audience- 
hall,  and  lion-throne,  marked  by  a  number  of  dwarf  stone 
pillars  and  by  a  solitary  finely  sculptured  lion  with  curly 
mane  and  twisted  claws  and  tail.  He  is  about  7  feet  long 
by  6  feet  6  inches  high.  IV e  were  fortunate  in  seeing  him 
in  the  right  place,  as  he  was  shortly  afterwards  removed  to 
Colombo,  there  to  grace  the  museum.  His  date,  in  common 
with  that  of  most  of  the  ruins,  must  be  about  a.d.  1153. 

On  the  farther  end  of  the  embankment  stands  a  cyclopean 
statue  of  King  Prakrama,  sculptured  in  full  relief  from  a 
mass  of  dark  rock.  He  is  represented  reading  an  "  ola,"  i.e., 
a  long  scroll,  and  the  sculptor  has  not  given  him  a  pleasant 
expression.      The  height  of  the  statue  is  11  feet  6  inches. 


THE    WATA    DkGt.  117 

By  some  accident  the  upper  half  of  his  head  was  broken  and 
has  been  replaced  rather  on  one  side.  The  Government  Agent 
(Sir  F.  Dickson),  who  was  with  us,  bade  his  men  climb  on 
to  the  shoulders  of  the  statue  and  put  it  straight.  With 
undisguised  horror  they  refused  to  stand  on  the  shoulders 
of  a  king,  but  they  climbed  up  the  rock  behind  him,  and 
with  great  difficulty  contrived  to  reach  it  and  do  what  was 
needed. 

I  found  a  very  attractive  spot  for  a  comprehensive  sketch 
at  the  Wata  Dage  or  round  treasure-honse,  a  circular  build- 
ing of  red  brick  on  a  raised  and  terraced  mound.  It  is 
surrounded  by  a  low  wall  of  huge  stone  slabs,  all  covered 
with  a  sort  of  diaper  pattern  of  four- leafed  flowers,  which 
is  quite  unique  in  my  experience  of  Oriental  sculpture. 
Between  each  slab  stands  a  tall  monolithic  column  with 
finely  sculptured  capital.  The  terrace  wall  round  the  mound 
is  all  very  richly  sculptured  with  rows  of  grotesque  fat  men, 
lions,  and  lotus  blossoms  all  round  it.  It  is  approached  by 
four  very  handsome  stairways,  all  most  elaborately  carved, 
and  with  very  perfect  guardian  figures,  with  the  usual  head- 
dress or  canopy  of  seven-headed  serpents.  The  moonstones 
at  the  base  of  these  steps  are  also  in  most  perfect  preserva- 
tion, with  semicircles  of  geese,  elephants,  and  horses  round  a 
central  lotus  flower.  These  stones  are  7  feet  8  inches  in 
diameter. 

Within  the  circular  building  there  remain  only  the 
mutilated  fragments  of  a  sitting  image  of  Buddha,  whose 
head  lies  on  the  grass,  with  stony  face  upturned  to  the 
sky,  alike  heedless  of  the  gay  butterflies  that  hover  around, 
and  of  the  white  woman  from  a  far-away  isle  who  dares 
to  invade  his  sanctuary. 

Beside  the  broken  statue   lies  an  oblong  stone   marked 


118  POLLANARUA. 

with  diamond- shaped  holes.  A  similar  stone  lies  in  the 
outer  quadrangle  of  the  "  Temple  of  the  Tooth."  They  were 
probably  yoga  stones,  on  which  devotees  might  gaze  fixedly 
to  intensify  their  meditations.^ 

The  circular  brick  wall  is  only  about  twenty  feet  in  height, 
but  on  its  summit  a  noble  banyan  has  established  itself,  and 
throws  out  such  a  network  of  great  white  roots,  reaching 
to  the  base  of  the  mound,  that  its  roots  are  in  truth  as  con- 
spicuous as  the  wide-reaching  arms,  which  were  the  chosen 
playground  of  a  large  troop  of  frolicsome  monkeys  of  all 
ages  and  sizes,  jumping,  swinging,  chattering,  scolding, 
grimacing,  as  if  they  were  trying  to  show  off  their  accom- 
plishments to  the  strange  invader  of  their  sanctuary.  Several 
had  the  neatest  little  babies,  which  cuddled  in  the  maternal 
arm,  rode  on  her  back,  or  held  on  by  her  long  tail,  as  the 
case  might  be. 

The  clear  blue  of  the  sky  forming  a  background  to  the 
warm  rich  reds  of  the  brickwork,  the  white  banyan  stems 
and  stonework,  and  the  greens  of  foliage  and  grass,  made 
a  pleasant  scene,  and  presently  a  solitary  priest  ascended 
the  steps,  and  his  brown  skin  and  saffron  drapery  and  palm- 
leaf  fan  added  just  the  needful  touch  of  yellow  light.  To 
the  right  of  the  picture  rises  the  Sat-mahal-prasada,  or 
"  Palace  of  Seven  Storeys."  It  is  a  small  building  in  very 
perfect  preservation,  but  it  is  only  28  feet  6  inches  square 
at  the  base,  and  there  is  nothing  to  indicate  what  it  was 
used  for ;   possibly  a  cell  for  some  fanciful  priest. 

Between  it  and  the   Wata  Dage  lies   a  very  remarkable 

huge  block  of   stone   known   as   the    "  Galpota "    or    stone 

book.      It  measures  28   feet  in  length  by  5  in  width,  and 

averages  2  feet  6  inches  in  depth  ;  but  only  the  top  and  the 

^  See  chapter  xiii. 


THE    GREAT    STONE    BOOK.  119 

four  sides  are  hewn  so  as  to  represent  a  gigantic  book. 
For  some  reason  unknown,  King  Kirti  Nissauga  caused  Lis 
"  strong  men "  to  carry  this  enormous  stone  all  the  way 
from  the  sacred  mountain  of  Mihintale,  a  distance  of  upwards 
of  eighty  miles.  This  is  recorded  on  the  stone  itself,  which 
is  entii-ely  covered  with  writing,  except  that  the  inscription 
is  encircled  with  a  procession  of  sacred  geese,  and  at  either 
end  a  neat  little  image  of  Buddha  sits  cross-legged  between 
two  tall  elephants,  which  uplift  their  trunks  and  so  form  a 
canopy  for  his  protection. 

The  inscriptions,  which  date  from  about  a.d.  1187,  are 
chiefly  Oriental  adulation  of  King  Kirti  Nissauga  by  his 
prime  minister.  After  enumerating  proofs  of  his  miracu- 
lous powers  and  wisdom,  the  inscription  tells  how  he  re-con- 
structed the  embankments  of  great  lakes  and  watercourses, 
thus  restoring  pi-osperity  to  the  people  ;  how  he  got  rid  of 
robbers  by  giving  them  whatever  riches  they  desired  (!) ;  how 
he  expelled  evil-doers  from  the  monasteries,  and  provided 
the  priests  with  food,  raiment,  lodging,  and  pliysic. 

Very  curious  are  the  details  of  some  of  his  almsgiving, 
and  also  of  his  care  for  the  prosperity  of  his  own  race.  We 
are  told  how,  considering  that  the  continuance  of  religion 
and  of  the  sciences  depended  on  the  royal  dynasty,  the 
king  sent  to  the  country  of  Kaalinga  {i.e.,  Orissa  in  India), 
whence  he  himself  had  come,  and  caused  many  princesses 
of  the  Soma  Surya  Wansae  {i.e.,  the  Luni-Solar  race)  to  be 
brought  to  his  court,  and  he  married  these  royal  virgins  to 
his  son,  and  so  increased  the  royal  lamily. 

Then  with  regard  to  alms,  every  year  his  Majesty,  wearing 
the  crown  and  all  ruyul  ornaments,  caused  himself,  his  two 
chief  queens,  and  his  son  and  daughter,  to  be  weighed  in 
a   balance,  and  he  bestowed  five  times  their  united  weight 


120  POLLANARUA. 

of  goods  on  the  Buddliist  and  Brahmin  priests,  the  blind, 
the  lame,  the  deformed,  and  other  destitute  and  friendless 
people.  "  He  quenched  the  fire  of  poverty  with  showers 
of  riches,  gold  coin,  copper,  bell-metal,  gold,  silver,  pearls, 
precious  stones,  vestments,  and  jewels."  "  Thus  he  made 
the  poor  happy,  and  caused  a  constant  supply  of  rain." 
The  last  allusion  to  the  favour  of  the  gods  is  one  which 
would  eminently  appeal  to  this  rice-growing  community  in 
a  district  so  subject  to  drought. 

On  the  same  huge  tablet  another  inscription  tells  of  the 
numerous  temples  and  relic-shrines  which  he  either  built 
or  repaired,  of  the  enormous  sums  he  expended  in  regild- 
ing  the  seventy-two  images  of  Buddha  placed  by  his  prede- 
cessor in  the  rock-temples  at  Dambulla,  and  restoring  the 
shrines  at  Anuradhapura,  in  building  alms-houses,  which  he 
furnished  with  vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  and  where  the 
poor  were  provided  with  abundance  of  victuals,  and  how  he 
dedicated  his  son  and  daughter  to  the  Sacred  Tooth,  and 
subsequently  redeemed  them  by  offering  in  their  stead  a 
dagoba  of  solid  gold  and  other  precious  objects. 

This  very  literal  reading  of  a  man  being  worth  his 
weight  in  gold  seems  to  have  commended  itself  to  the 
Singhalese  sovereigns,  The  same  inscription  on  the  rock 
at  Dambulla  which  records  how  the  great  King  Pi'akrama 
Bahu  made  and  gilded  the  aforesaid  seventy-two  statues  of 
Buddha,  also  tells  of  his  annual  donation  of  five  times  his 
own  weight  in  gold  and  jewels  for  the  relief  of  the  poor. 
And  here  at  Pollanarua  another  rock-tablet  tells  of  another 
king  of  the  Kaalinga  dynasty,  who,  like  his  predecessor, 
Kirti  Nissanga,  annually  distributed  five  times  his  own 
weight  of  gold,  precious  stones,  jewels,  and  rich  vestments 
for  the   good   of  the   needy  ;  and,    moreover,  for  five  years 


STATELY   RUINS.  121 

relinquished  all  his  royal  revenues  in  order  to  relieve  the 
people  from  the  distress  occasioned  by  the  exactions  of 
former  kings. 

Very  special  interest  attaches  to  the  Delada  Maligawa, 
a  temple  built  for  the  reception  of  Buddha's  famous  tooth. 
It  is  thought  that  the  Wata  Dage  was  built  for  it  when 
it  was  first  brought  here  from  Anuradhapura,  for  the 
Mahawanso  records  how  the  great  Prakrama,  arrayed  in 
royal  apparel  and  mounted  on  an  elephant,  with  a  golden 
umbrella  over  his  head,  came  with  much  military  pomp  to 
return  thanks  for  his  victories  at  the  shrine  of  the  holy 
tooth.  This  second  temple  seems  to  have  been  erected  in 
its  honour  a  few  years  later  by  King  Kirti  Nissanga.  After 
the  lapse  of  seven  centuries  it  remains  in  wonderful  pre- 
servation, the  sculptures  on  the  walls  and  the  very  remark- 
able pillars  round  the  inner  shrine  being  almost  perfect. 

I  found  another  very  pictorial  subject  in  the  ruins  of 
the  great  Jetawanarama  Temple,  with  a  foreground  of 
exceedingly  ornamental  pillars  and  admirably  sculptured 
stones  overgrown  with  tangled  creepers,  while  beyond  these 
in  the  near  distance  stands  the  Kiri  or  Milk-white  Dagoba, 
so  called  from  the  beautifully  smooth  white  chunam  with 
which  the  whole  huge  building  was  once  coated.  And 
very  well  it  must  have  looked  when  crowned  with  its  gilded 
tee  or  symbolic  umbrella.  The  chunam  and  the  gilding 
have  disappeared,  otherwise  it  is  almost  perfect,  though 
large  trees  have  contrived  to  root  themselves  in  many  a 
fissure,  and  veil  the  now  naked  brick,  or  rather  tile-work 
(for  the  building  material  here  is  all  tiles),  with  delicate 
foliage  and  a  network  of  roots  and  branches. 

The  firreat  Jetawanarama  Vihara  is  likewise  almost  shorn 
of  its  coating  of  once  dazzling  chunam,  but  the  rich  warm 


122  POLLANARUA. 

colours  of  its  crumbling  brickwork,  standing  in  strong 
light  antl  dark  shade  against  a  blue  sky,  and  all  softened 
by  the  cool  greens  of  many  a  tree  and  creeping  plant,  are 
certainly  more  attractive  to  an  artist  than  the  temple  could 
have  been  in  the  days  of  its  glory.  A  stairway  of  the 
usual  type,  but  of  which  each  stone  is  twenty  feet  in  length 
and  very  finely  sculptured,  leads  up  to  the  eastern  entrance 
between  two  polygonal  turrets,  which,  like  the  rest  of  the 
walls,  are  about  eighty  feet  in  height. 

Against  the  western  wall,  facing  the  rising  sun,  stands 
a  huge  and  now  hideous  image  of  Buddha  about  sixty  feet 
in  height,  which  when  coated  with  chunam  must  have 
resembled  polished  marble,  but  is  now  only  broken  brick- 
work. From  the  fact  that  some  very  low  windows  seem 
to  have  been  the  only  means  of  lighting  this  shrine,  Sir 
James  Tennent  infers  that  the  roof  was  perhaps  constructed 
on  the  same  principle  as  that  of  a  pagoda  on  the  Irawaddi 
River  known  as  the  "  Cave  of  Ananda,"  in  which  a  similar 
statue  of  Buddha  is  mysteriously  illuminated  by  means  of 
an  opening  in  the  roof,  unseen  by  the  worshippers,  but  so 
contrived  as  to  throw  a  full  ray  of  light  only  on  the  head 
and  shoulders  of  the  image,  thus  forming  a  very  effective 
halo,  in  striking  contrast  with  the  gloom  of  the  temple. 

I  spoke  of  the  Kiri  Dagoba  as  "  huge."  It  is  really 
about  100  feet  high,  with  a  diameter  of  about  70  feet, 
which  is  pretty  well  for  a  mass  of  solid  brickwork,  but 
it  is  effectually  dwarfed  by  the  Rankot  or  Golden-spire 
Dagoba  (which  is  also  called  Ruan-welle-saye,  "  the  place 
of  golden  dust ").  This  gigantic  pile  is  200  feet  high,  and 
about  186  feet  in  diameter.  It  is  surrounded  by  eight 
small  shrines  with  conical  roofs. 

There  are  several  other  dagobas   of  the  same  type,  and 


FOEEST   SANCTUARIES.  123 

innumerable  sculptured  pillars,  which  alone  remain  to  sug- 
gest vanished  glories,  for  the  buildings  which  they  supported 
have  wholly  disappeared.  Near  the  so-called  fort  were  the 
royal  baths.  In  the  centre  of  the  "  kumara  pokuna,"  the 
king's  own  bathing  pond — a  stone-lined  tank — there  is  a 
circular  stone  on  whicli  the  king  sat  and  submitted  to  the 
delicate  attentions  of  bathers  ;  for  one  of  the  penalties  of 
monarchy  was  that  he  had  not  even  the  privilege  of 
washing  himself.  Three  stone  lions  which  lie  close  by  are 
supposed  to  have  supported  this  "  bath-chair." 

But  it  is  useless  to  attempt  to  describe  the  numerous 
ruins  which  lie  so  thickly  scattered  all  through  the  jungle, 
which  now  overspreads  the  whole  of  what  was  once  so  great 
a  city — mounds  of  brickwork,  broken  columns,  an  inex- 
haustible supply  of  sculptured  stones,  geese,  elephants,  lions, 
horses,  lotus-blossoms,  and  grotesque  figures,  with  here  and 
there  fallen  images  lying  prostrate  on  the  earth. 

Now  temples  and  palaces  are  utterly  deserted  save  by 
the  beasts  of  the  forest,  which  find  in  these  silent  sanc- 
tuaries the  stillness  they  love,  a  secure  retreat,  and  deep 
cool  shade  where  they  can  make  their  dens  and  rear  their 
young  undisturbed.  Bears,  leopards,  and  porcupines  share 
the  inner  shrines  with  owls  and  flocks  of  evil-smelling  bats. 
Radiant  peacocks  and  emerald-green  parroquets,  orioles, 
barbets,  and  many  other  birds  of  gay  plumage,  flash  athwart 
the  sunlight  from  the  shelter  of  dark  foliage,  and  herds 
of  wild  deer  couch  fearlessly  beside  the  broken  idols  with 
the  calm  passionless  faces  which  so  little  heed  their  own 
downfall. 

In  one  ruined  shrine  I  collected  a  handful  of  porcupine 
quills  as  a  memento  of  the  spot.  These  creatures  conceal 
themselves  so   effectually  in  the  daytime,  that  even  in  the 


124  POLLANARUA. 

districts  where  they  abound  many  people  have  never  seen 
one.  They  are  often  captured  at  night  by  the  simple  stra- 
tagem of  digging  a  deep  ditch  with  perpendicular  sides, 
and  narrowing  gradually  towards  one  end.  The  porcupine 
enters  the  ditch  in  search  of  food,  and  walks  on  till  he 
sticks  fast,  and  can  by  no  possibility  turn  round,  as  his 
quills  stick  in  the  mud ;  then  the  poor  "  fretful  porcupine  " 
fall  an  easy  victim.  His  flesh,  which  resembles  that  of  a 
nice  young  pig,  is  prized  as  a  great  delicacy. 

To  me  the  shrine  of  greatest  interest  was  the  Gal  A^ihara, 
which  lies  to  the  north  of  the  city,  a  quite  unique  rock- 
temple,  hollowed  in  a  mass  of  dark-brown  gneiss  rock ; 
from  the  colour  of  which  the  temple  is  also  called  Kula- 
galla,  "  the  black  rock."  From  this  rock  three  gigantic  figures 
have  been  sculptured  in  almost  full  relief.  One  represents 
Buddha  sitting  in  contemplation  in  the  usual  attitude, 
arms  and  legs  alike  folded  in  complete  repose.  This 
image  is  15  feet  high,  and  sits  on  a  pedestal  5  feet  deep 
by  18  wide.  The  background  is  all  most  elaborately  sculp- 
tured, and  all  as  sharp  and  clean-cut  as  though  it  were 
the  work  of  yesterday — not  a  trace  of  weathering  after  the 
lapse  of  seven  centuries. 

Then  comes  the  rock-hewn  temple,  which  is  built  up  in 
front  and  adorned  with  columns,  but  within  it  is  an  altar 
on  which  is  another  sedent  image  of  Buddha,  all  hewn  from 
the  rock.  It  is  only  about  half  the  size  of  the  image  out- 
side, but  the  whole  interior  of  the  shrine  is  elaborately  deco- 
rated. Unfortunately,  modern  piety  has  renovated  ancient 
art  with  grievously  crude  colours. 

The  temple  is  approached  by  rock-hewn  steps,  and  on 
either  side  the  rock  has  been  smoothed  so  as  to  form  two 
inclined  planes,  one  of  which,  18   feet  high   by   13  feet  9 


GIGANTIC    IMAGES    OF    BUDDHA.  125 

inches  in  width,  is  covered  with  u  long-  inscription  in 
the  ancient  Pali  character,  which,  however,  is  not  specially 
interesting. 

Next  to  this,  standing  at  the  head  of  a  huge  recum- 
bent image  of  Buddha,  is  an  upright  statue,  23  feet  high, 
representing  Ananda,  Buddha's  favourite  disciple,  with  his 
arms  crossed  on  his  breast.  He  stands  on  a  circular  pedestal, 
edged  with  the  conventional  lotus-leaf,  which  generally 
marks  the  throne  of  Buddha  ;  hence  this  image  has  gene- 
rally been  mistaken  for  Buddha  himself,  but  wise  autho- 
rities have  decided  otherwise,  chiefly  because  the  Llahawanso 
records  the  formation  of  this  rock-temple  by  King  Pra- 
krama,  and  describes  only  two  images  of  Gautama,  one 
sitting,  the  other  reclining.  All  three  wear  the  robe  so 
as  to  leave  the  right  arm  and  shoulder  bare. 

The  recumbent  statue  is  forty-six  feet  in  length,  and 
represents  Buddha  as  in  the  dreamless  sleep  of  Nirvana, 
his  head  resting  on  the  right  hand,  on  the  palm  of  which 
is  engraved  a  lotus-blossom,  and  the  hand  resting  on  a 
bolster.  The  attitude  is  that  of  perfect  repofe.  The  dif- 
ference of  stature  between  Buddha  in  contemplation  and 
Buddha  in  his  last  rest  is  very  striking.  Eastern  symbolism 
always  seems  to  suppose  corporeal  growth  in  the  holy  dead, 
hence  the  necessity  for  graves  of  preternatural  length,  as  in 
the  case  of  that  of  Eve  at  Jeddah,  which  measures  at  least 
sixty  feet.i 

'  This  great  image  is,  however,  a  mere  pigmy  as  compared  with  some  in 
otlier  Buddhist  countries,  notably  at  Baniiaii  in  Afghanistan,  where,  on  the 
road  between  Cabul  and  Balkli,  the  early  Buddhists  excavated  monasteries 
and  rock-cells  literally  by  the  thousand  in  the  high  elitrs  of  conglomerate, 
some  of  which  have  been  fashioned  into  the  likeness  of  gigantic  images  of 
Buddha.  One  of  these,  which  was  measured  with  the  theodolite  by  the 
Hon.   M.  G.  Talbot,  R.E.,  was  found  to  be  173  feet  in  height.    Another, 


126  POLLANARUA. 

I  fear  that  the  mere  description  of  all  this  may  not 
sound  very  impressive,  but  it  certainly  is  so  in  reality,  and 
so  I  felt  it  to  be  while  myself  sitting  on  another  great 
mass  of  dark  chocolate-coloured  rock,  separated  from  the 
temple  by  a  belt  of  grass  and  shrubs,  and  looking  above 
and  beyond  it  to  a  background  of  silent  solemn  forest.  One 
or  two  brethren  of  the  yellow  robe  hovered  about  the  door 
of  the  inner  temple,  but  the  throng  of  worshippers  who 
in  bygone  ages  bowed  before  these  gigantic  idols  has 
passed  away ;  yet  there  these  remain,  heedless  as  ever  of 
the  coming  and  going  of  men,  and  of  all  their  joys  and 
sorrows. 

To  this  great  capital  came  embassies  from  distant  lands, 
even  from  China,  chiefly  to  do  homage  to  the  various 
objects  of  Buddhist  worship.  There  is,  however,  evidence 
of  very  early  commercial  intercourse  with  China,  chiefly 
gathered  from  Chinese  books  of  extracts  from  ancient  records 
now  lost,  showing  how  Chinese  fleets  came  to  Galle  to 
trade.  Swords  and  musical  instruments  were  among  the 
things  imported  to  Ceylon,  and  in  later  days,  a.d.  1266, 
Chinese  soldiers  served  in  the  army  of  Prakrama  III. 

But  in  1405  King  Wijaya-Bahu  YL,  who  seems  to  have 
adopted  the  Hindoo  faith,  tyrannised  over  the  Buddhists 
and  maltreated  strangers,  plundering  their  ships.  Among 
those  thus  treated,  a  Chinese  embassy  bringing  gifts  to  the 
shrine  of  Buddha  were  treacherously  waylaid,  and  escaped 
with  difficulty.     Nevertheless,  when,  in  1407,  the  Emperor 

also  a  standinp;  figure,  was  proved  to  be  120  feet  high.  A  sitting  figure  is 
SO  feet,  and  of  two  others  now  in  ruins,  one  must  have  been  about  60  feet 
high.  All  these  statues  were  originally  either  gilt  or  covered  with  metal. 
Burmah  also  glories  in  great  images  of  Buddha,  one  near  Moulmain  being 
fully  120  feet  long.  It  is  built  of  brick,  and  represents  Buddha  in  Nirvana. 
In  China  and  Japan  also  he  is  represented  on  a  colossal  scale. 


CEYLON    TRIBUTARY    TO    CHINA.  127 

of  China  sent  his  great  general,  Ching-Ho,  with  sixty-two 
junks  and  a  strong  military  force,  on  an  embassy  to 
Sumatra,  Java,  Cambodia,  Siam,  and  other  places,  Ceylon 
was  included,  the  embassy  arriving  there  in  1408. 

Wijaya-Bahu,  however,  endeavoured  treacherously  to  cap- 
ture his  visitors  and  to  plunder  and  burn  their  ships.  The 
tables  were  turned,  and  he  and  his  queen,  his  children, 
his  officers  of  state,  and  the  Tooth  Avere  carried  back  to 
China,  where  the  Tooth  was  long  kept  in  a  monastery  at 
Nankin. 

The  Emperor  of  China,  having  compassion  on  his  pri- 
soners, desired  the  officers  of  state  to  elect  "  the  wisest  of 
the  family  "  as  their  king.  This  honour  was  conferred  on 
Pula-ko-ma  Bazac  Lacha,  which  is  evidently  Chinese  for 
Prakrama  Bahu  Rajah.  All  the  prisoners  were  sent  home, 
and  a  Chinese  envoy  was  sent  to  invest  him  with  regal 
power  as  a  vassal  of  China,  and  thenceforth  annual  tribute 
was  paid  till  a.d.  1459,  when  it  suddenly  ceased. 

Now  the  intercourse  between  the  nations  seems  to  be 
limited  to  the  visits  of  traders,  who  explore  certain  caves 
on  the  coast  in  search  of  the  glutinous  nests  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  soup,  and  who  trade  in  the  sea-slugs  or 
heche-de-mer  which  are  turned  to  similar  account.  The 
former,  however,  form  a  very  small  item.  From  a  recent 
table  of  exports  from  Ceylon  to  China,  I  see  the  total  value 
of  edible  birds'  nests  for  the  year  was  only  fort}-  rupees, 
that  of  hichc-de-mer  was  27,300  rupees.  Sharks'  fins  were 
valued  at  13,667  rupees.  Fish,  dried  and  salted,  and  fish 
fins  and  bones,  were  18,327  rupees,  and  birds'  feathers 
amounted  to  1240  rupees. 

We  made  the  very  most  of  several  long  days  at  Polla- 
narua,    and  then   abandoned  our  peaceful,    pleasant   camp, 


128  POLLANARUA. 

with  much  regret.  A  lovely  niorniny  ride  of  about  nine 
miles  brought  us  to  beautiful  Lake  Minery,  halting  on  our 
way  at  Giritale,  a  charming  little  lake,  with  massive  stone 
embankment  and  some  sculptured  stones.  It  has  the  usual 
surroundings  of  fine  trees,  and  view  of  near  wooded  hills 
and  blue  distant  ranges.  We  had  previously  visited  Sevam- 
putti,  another  of  these  minor  tanks,  beyond  which  lies 
Gunner's  Quoin,  one  of  the  principal  hills  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. There  the  scene  had  a  touch  of  human  interest 
from  the  lonely  watch-huts  on  the  brink  of  the  swampy 
ground,  mere  rudely-thatched  platforms  of  boughs  raised 
on  high  poles,  wherein  some  lonely  watcher  kept  ceaseless 
guard  to  scare  marauding  animals  from  the  crops.  By 
day  he  shouts  and  pulls  long  lines  of  clacking  rattles,  and 
by  night  he  kindles  fires  for  the  same  purpose. 

The  great  lake  at  Minery  was  made  about  a.d.  275,  and 
owes  its  existence  to  King  Maha  Sen,  who,  as  we  learnt  at 
Anuradhapura,  atoned  for  his  early  apostasy  from  Buddhism 
by  most  energetic  construction  of  temples  and  of  tanks  for 
the  irrigation  of  temple-lands.  It  is  said  that  Minery  was 
designed  to  irrigate  twenty  thousand  fields,  belonging  to  the 
Jetawanarama  Vihara  at  Pollanarua.  In  order  to  form 
it,  he  diverted  the  waters  of  the  Kara-Ganga  (now  called 
Amban-Ganga)  near  Matale,  which  is  distant  about  forty 
miles,  and  formed  a  great  canal  by  which  to  convey  them 
to  Minery.  Besides  this,  he  constructed  sixteen  other  tanks, 
including  that  of  Gantalawe  (now  called  Kanthalay)  near 
Trincomalee. 

So  great  and  numerous  were  his  works,  that  the  people 
deemed  him  godlike,  and  believed  that  he  received  super- 
natural aid ;  yet  strange  to  say,  though  all  his  works  were 
beneficent,  yet  when,  after  his  death,  a  pestilence  swept  the 


A    DEIFIED    KING.  129 

land,  tliey  commenced  to  worship  him  as  an  incarnation 
of  the  Indian  war-god  Kataragama — an  angry  deity  to  be 
propitiated,  chiefly  with  a  view  to  the  healing  of  malig- 
nantly inflicted  bodily  suffering  (see  page  223). 

In  the  very  picturesque  village  of  Minery  a  humble 
mud-hut  is  the  temple  of  the  deified  king,  whose  iron 
sword,  with  a  square  hilt,  peculiarly  decorated  with  small 
brass  chains,  is  treasured  as  a  precious  relic.  In  presence 
of  his  image  there  is  a  holy  stone,  about  two  feet  square, 
let  into  a  large  one  for  greater  security.  To  this  temple 
persons  accused  of  any  crime,  or  having  any  cause  of  dispute 
with  their  neighbours,  repair,  and  having  kept  solemn  vigil 
for  a  night  in  an  open  shed  near  the  temple,  deposit  on 
the  stone  a  fanara,  which  is  a  vei-y  small  coin,  equal  to  the 
sixteenth  part  of  a  rupee,  and  swear  their  most  solemn 
oaths, ^  with  the  firm  conviction  that  perjury  would  involve 
death  within  six  months.  In  the  village  we  also  saw  a 
curious  circular  thatched  building  all  closed  up,  in  which, 
we  were  told,  various  sacred  relics  were  stored,  including 
an  arrow  once  used  by  King  Maha  Sen. 

We  had  heard  a  rumour  of  the  existence  of  a  place  of 
exceeding  sanctity,  known  as  the  Grove  of  the  Tank  Gods, 
and  were  exceedingly  anxious  to  see  it,  but  the  people  were 
unwilling  to  lead  us  to  it.  The  headman  declared  he  could 
not  take  us,  as  it  would  require  three  months  of  purification 
ere  he  dared  approach  the  spot  with  necessary  offerings ! 
However,  having  gone  off  by  myself  in  the  evening  for  a 
long  walk,  with  only  a  villager  for  my  guide,  I  discovered 
this  holy  of  holies,  to  his  great  disgust  and  my  own 
unbounded  satisfaction. 

^  As  our  ancestors  did  ou  the  Oath-stoue  of  lona.     See  "  In  the  Hebrides," 
page  70. 

VOL.  ir.  I 


130  POLLANARUA. 

And  such  a  poor,  contemptible  little  place  as  it  is  !  simply 
a  small  space  cleared  in  the  dense  vegetation  on  the  em- 
bankment of  the  lake,  and  round  this  are  ranged  broken 
fragments  of  images  and  a  variety  of  sculptured  stones,  the 
body  of  a  headless  lion,  an  odd  hunchback  figure  minus 
legs,  a  broken  image  with  a  seven-headed  snake-canopy 
a  rather  graceful  female  figure,  and  a  good  many  others,  all 
broken,  and  propped  up  with  heaps  of  fragments.  Two  only, 
namely,  the  hunchback  and  the  lady,  are  unusual,  and  are 
supposed  to  represent  Maha  Sen  and  his  wife.  Is  it  not 
strange  to  think  that  the  descendants  of  the  race  who  con- 
structed these  grand  tanks  and  built  these  splendid  cities 
and  temples  can  rise  to  no  loftier  conception  than  collecting 
broken  fragments  of  images  in  some  shady  corner,  which  is 
thenceforth  invested  with  sanctity  and  mj'stery,  and  only 
approached  in  trembling  dread  ? 

In  the  same  walk  I  came  on  several  queer  little  holy 
places  in  the  forest — mere  circles  of  small  stones,  within 
which  were  deposited  a  multitude  of  offerings  of  rude  red 
pottery,  very  varied  in  shape,  some  being  simply  water- 
jars,  but  the  majority  resembling  the  tee  on  the  summit  of 
a  relic-shrine.  I  never  saw  anything  of  this  sort  anywhere 
else ;  but  a  few  days  later,  near  the  tank  at  Kanthalay,  we 
came  on  a  sandy  circle  beneath  great  trees,  where  red 
earthenware  votive-lamps  stood  ready  for  lighting  at  night. 
Some  of  these  were  such  neat  little  curios  that  I  felt  sorely 
tempted  to  appropiiate  one,  but,  happily,  refrained  from 
such  sacrilegious  theft.  It  is  certainly  remarkable  that  the 
very  monkeys  respect  those  unprotected  accumulations  of 
crockery.  A  sudden  impulse  on  the  part  of  one  of  the 
numerous  troops  would  make  short  work  of  the  whole. 

One  of  these  circles  was  guarded   by  a  familiar  spirit  in 


ECCENTRIC    LIZARDS.  131 

the  form  of  a  splendid  lizard,  about  eighteen  inches  long,  a 
chameleon,  I  suppose,  as  he  rapidly  changed  colour  with 
indignation  at  my  intrusion.  To  begin  with,  he  was  bright 
green  with  a  crimson  head  ;  then  he  turned  brown  and 
yellow,  and  afterwards  appeared  of  a  rich  olive  colour. 
After  a  while  he  turned  black,  to  frighten  me,  I  suppose, 
as  he  stood  puffing  like  a  little  demon  and  raising  his 
dorsal  spines.  When  he  saw  I  was  not  bent  on  mischief, 
he  once  more  assumed  his  green  robe  and  ruby  cap,  and 
seemed  satisfied.  Another  of  these  harmless  lizards  has 
a  red-and-orange  pouch  under  his  chin,  and  small  horns 
which  give  him  a  most  demoniacal  appearance.  They  love 
to  lie  basking  in  the  noonday  sun. 

A  family  of  screaming,  flying  foxes  returning  to  roost  in 
the  trees  overhead  were  well  in  keeping  with  the  scene, 
and  as  evening  drew  on,  the  large  green  frogs  in  the 
lake  commenced  their  night  concert  of  croaking. 

The  quaintness  of  the  aforesaid  circles  was  greatly  en- 
hanced by  their  surroundings  of  huge  vines — climbing 
plants  of  various  sorts — originally  mere  twisted  tendrils, 
which  have  swung  from  branch  to  branch,  thence  hanging 
in  huge  festoons,  till  the  whole  forest  is  thus  linked  together 
by  this  intricate  living  cordage.  Sometimes  the  beautiful 
treacherous  creepers  crush  to  death  the  trees  and  boughs 
around  which  they  have  twined,  and  the  stem  decays  and 
crumbles  away,  leaving  the  great  coils,  now  grown  into 
hard  wood,  old  and  self-supporting,  twisting  spirally  in 
every  direction,  like  legions  of  writhing  snakes,  and  forming 
a  very  distinctive  feature  in  the  undergrowth.  One  of 
these  creepers  ^  bears  a   gigantic  bean,  always  suggestive 

'  The  Entada  pursoctha,  called  by  the  Singhalese  the  Maha-jnis-wuel  or 
great  hollow  climber. 


132  POLLANARUA. 

of  Jack-in-the-beanstalk.  Its  pods,  which  are  from  four 
to  six  feet  in  length,  and  about  four  inches  wide,  are 
divided  into  sections,  each  containing  a  handsome  chocolate- 
coloured  bean,  which,  when  hollowed  out,  makes  a  neat 
match-box. 

Another  of  these  climbing  plants,  which  mounts  to  the 
top  of  high  trees,  bears  large  clusters  of  yellow  flowers, 
which  are  succeeded  by  prickly  pods  containing  pretty, 
smooth  grey  seeds,  so  round  that  they  might  almost  be 
used  as  marbles. 

The  temporary  bungalows  prepared  for  us  at  Minery 
were  less  fascinating  in  point  of  situation  than  our  last 
camp,  being  farther  from  the  lake  and  much  nearer  the 
village.  They  were,  however,  near  a  very  picturesque 
stream,  in  which  groups  of  natives  bathed  with  infinite 
enjoyment  beneath  the  shade  of  pleasant  trees  all  matted 
with  large-leaved  creepers,  forming  ideal  "  greenrooms." 
Graceful  tree-ferns  grew  beneath  the  tall  palms  and 
everhung  the  stream,  and  the  luxuriant  elephant  creeper, 
with  its  large  heart-shaped  leaves  and  lilac  blossoms, 
formed  the  loveliest  screen,  mingling  with  the  beautiful 
Granadilla,  starred  with  passion-flowers  and  with  the  large 
green  fruits  which,  with  sugar  and  milk,  are  very  pleasant 
food.  Handsome  basket-ferns  had  niched  themselves  on 
the  boughs  of  many  trees,  from  which  also  hung  divers 
orchids. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  even  now  in  a  rainy  season 
Lake  Minery  fills  so  as  to  have  a  circumference  of  fully 
twenty  miles.  At  the  time  of  our  visit  the  waters  had 
contracted  to  about  a  third  of  that  size,  so  not  only  was 
the  hewn  stone-work  of  the  great  embankment  all  uncovered, 
but   promontories  and    islets,   which    then    rise    charmingly 


HUGE   EARTH-WORMS.  133 

from  the  waters,  were  all  high  and  dry.  The  said  embank- 
ment is  about  a  mile  and  a  half  in  length,  about  two 
hundred  feet  wide  at  the  base,  and  about  sixty  feet  high. 
The  view  thence,  looking  to  the  mountain  ranges  of  Matala 
and  Kandy,  greatly  resembles  that  of  the  Cuchullin  Hills  in 
Skye  as  seen  from  Ross-shire,  though  the  latter  could  not 
show  such  a  foreground  of  fine  timber. 

We  had  been  told  that  what  should  really  be  the  bed 
of  the  lake  was  bordered  with  firm,  springy  turf  on  which 
horses  can  canter  safely,  but  our  experience  was  of  a  soft, 
muddy  shore,  very  bad  riding-ground,  and  in  places  all 
undermined  and  thrown  up  into  soft  hillocks,  as  if  an  army 
of  moles  had  been  at  work :  this  was  due  to  the  boring  of 
huge  earth-worms. 

But  this  rich,  juicy  grass  forms  delightful  pasture,  and 
the  swampy  ground  about  this  lake  used  to  be  one  of 
my  brother's  favourite  hunting-grounds.  Then  herds  of 
elephants  and  ungainly,  often  savage,  buffaloes  (the  latter 
perhaps  numbering  a  hundred  or  more)  would  come  to 
enjoy  the  delight  of  wallowing  in  the  thick,  soft  mud  and 
long  grass.  But  since  cheap  guns  and  gunpowder  have 
placed  weapons  of  destruction  in  the  hands  of  natives  as 
well  as  foreigners,  the  harassed,  over-hunted  survivors  have 
disappeared  to  forests  yet  more  remote,  and  now  the  ex- 
tensive pasture-grounds  here  and  at  PoUanarua,  and 
around  all  the  great  tanks,  are  frequented  by  very  large 
herds  of  domestic  buffaloes  and  black  cattle  brought  over 
from  the  mainland  vid  Manaar. 

In  some  places  the  swampy  shores  of  the  lake  are  edged 
with  cable-rattans,  which  one  would  naturally  suppose  to  be 
bamboos,  but  which  are  really  members  of  the  palm  family 
— Calamus — long  slim  canes  which  grow  to  a  length  of  a 


134  POLLANARUA. 

hundred  feet  or  more/  climbing  to  the  tops  of  the  highest 
trees,  and  all  armed  with  hooked  thorns  and  interwoven  so 
as  to  form  an  impenetrable  mass.  This  grows  to  the  very 
brink,  where  rank  grass  borders  an  expanse  of  soft  dark 
mud,  forming  a  treacherous  crust  on  which  the  unwary 
treads,  and  sinks  through  into  deep  slime  and  decaying 
vegetable  matter,  a  mud-bath  delightful  to  the  wild  ele- 
phants, who  love  to  smear  their  whole  bodies  with  it,  and 
so  are  protected  against  mosquitoes. 

The  apparent  extent  of  the  lake  is  much  diminished  by 
the  luxuriant  growth  of  the  lotus,  with  its  tall,  artistically 
untidy  leaves  and  great  rosy  blossoms  ;  but  here  and  there 
lies  a  reach  of  very  still  water,  a  calm  mirror  reflecting  the 
pure  blue  of  heaven,  and  on  which  float  the  creamy  cups 
of  white  lilies — an  image  of  peace,  marred,  however,  by 
ugly  suggestions  of  scaly  monsters  swimming  languidly  to 
and  fro  among  the  lovely  lilies. 

These  horrid  crocodiles  (the  largest  of  lizards,  and  oh, 
how  unlike  their  dainty  little  cousins  !)  lie  basking  on  the 
dry  mud,  looking  so  like  boughs  of  fallen  trees  that  it  is 
quite  startling  to  see  them  glide  into  the  water  as  one  draws 
near — indeed  I  often  felt  rather  nervous  as  I  made  my  way 
on  foot  through  the  low  brush  and  tall  grasses  which  fringe 
these  lagoons,  lest  I  might  inadvertently  stumble  over  one 
and  awaken  him   from  his   noonday  sleep.      One  snap  from 

1  Tennant  mentions  having  seen  a  specimen  250  feet  long  and  an  inch  in 
diameter  without  a  single  irregularity,  and  no  appearance  of  foliage  other 
than  the  bunch  of  feathery  leaves  at  the  extremity.  In  the  southern  forests, 
where  it  grows  most  luxuriantly,  these  slender  canes  are  used  by  the  natives 
iu  the  construction  of  light  suspension  foot-bridges,  consisting  of  a  frail  woven 
platform,  with  a  rattan  hand-rail,  swaying  in  such  a  manner  as  sorely  tries 
the  nerve  of  any  European  who  huds  himself  obliged  to  cross  a  stream  on 
so  frail  a  roadway  (the  stream  perhaps  roaring  in  a  ravine  a  hundred  feet 
below). 


CROCODILES.  135 

those  enormous  jaws  would  be  a  remembrance  not  quickly 
ibrgotten,  even  supposing  one  got  away.  I  had  a  recollec- 
tion of  hearing  of  one,  measuring  17h  feet  in  length,  which 
swallowed  a  native  whole,  barring  his  head  and  one  hand 
which  it  had  previously  bitten  off.  It  was  killed  on  the 
following  day,  and  the  remains  of  the  man's  body  were 
found  inside  of  it. 

These  brutes  seize  their  prey  and  drag  it  under  water  to 
drown  it,  and  then  eat  it  when  hungry.  But  they  are  not 
at  all  particular  as  to  what  meat  they  devour,  and  being 
cannibals,  are  always  ready  to  feast  on  the  carcase  of  their 
nearest  relation  who  has  been  shot  and  left  on  the  shore. 
They  vary  in  size  from  new-born  babies  just  hatched  by  sun- 
heat  from  the  sixty  to  eighty  eggs  which  the  mother  buried 
in  the  sand,  to  full-grown  reptiles,  perhaps  eighteen  feet 
in  length.  Strange  to  say,  those  which  inhabit  tanks  liable 
to  dry  up  in  summer  have  the  power  of  hibernating,  and 
bury  themselves  in  the  mud,  which  dries  over  them,  and 
there  they  lie  torpid  till  the  next  rainy  season  reawakens 
them.  These  never  grow  larger  than  about  eight  feet. 
With  regard  to  longevity,  in  the  case  of  one  recently  cap- 
tured, scientists  decided,  from  certain  developments  of  horny 
growth,  that  it  must  be  fully  three  hundred  years  old. 

One  peculiarity  of  these  very  unpleasant  creatures  is,  that 
in  the  course  of  their  long  lives  they  renew  their  sixty-eight 
long  sharp  teeth  several  times,  so  that  even  in  extreme  old 
age  those  appallingly  strong  jaws  are  always  well  furnished 
for  offensive  warfare.  When  they  have  something  to  eat 
afloat,  you  see  only  their  noses  and  foreheads  above  water, 
but  as  soon  as  they  see  that  they  are  observed  down  they 
drop  to  the  bottom. 

Often  they  lie  embedded  in  mud  among  tall  reeds  and 


136  POLLANARUA. 

water-grasses,  and  often  only  the  quivering  of  these  betrays 
their  presence.  On  land  they  waddle  slowly,  but  once  they 
take  to  the  water  they  prove  swift  swimmers. 

To  do  them  justice,  they  are  most  diligent  scavengers, 
rejoicing  in  every  sort  of  decayed  animal  matter,  whether 
fish,  flesh,  or  fowl.  Nevertheless,  their  numbers  are  in  excess 
of  even  this  need ;  and  since  it  is  so  very  desirable  to  find 
an  incentive  for  thinning  the  ranks  of  these  terribly  prolific 
and  dangerous  monsters  (which  in  the  northern  lakes,  near 
Mullaitivu,  literally  swarm),  it  is  satisfactory  to  know  that, 
although  no  use  has  as  yet  been  discovered  for  their  horrid- 
looking  scaly  backs,  the  belly  skin  has  a  high  commercial 
value,  being  the  finest,  strongest,  softest,  and  most  durable 
of  all  leathers,  and  is  greatly  prized  for  the  manufacture 
of  travelling-bags,  portmanteaux,  boots  and  shoes,  pocket- 
books,  &c. 

The  skin  must  be  removed  in  as  large  and  clean  a  piece 
as  possible,  without  any  tear  or  cut ;  then  it  must  be 
steeped  in  strong  brine,  and  afterwards  well  rubbed  with 
salt  and  alum,  and  then  forwarded  to  England  in  a  secure 
packing-case.  The  tanning  is  done  in  London.  The  value 
of  a  skin  is  chiefly  determined  by  its  width.  Sportsmen 
who  have  sent  consignments  to  London  say  that  they  have 
received  18s.,  20s.,  and  26s.  apiece  for  them,  so  that 
crocodile-hunting  is  now  practically  useful  in  more  ways 
than  the  mere  destruction  of  dangerous  animals. 

More  agreeable  denizens  of  the  waters  are  sundry  kinds 
of  fish,  which  are  good  and  abundant.  The  natives  catch  them 
with  nets  and  in  traj^-baskets  of  bamboo  wickerwork  rather 
like  lobster-pots,  much  wider  at  the  base  than  at  the  top. 
The  fisherman  dexterously  drops  one  of  these  over  a  fish  as 
it  lies  in  a  muddy  shallow,  and  then  inserting  a  hand  through 


TANK    OF    KANTHALAY.  137 

a  hole  at  the  top,  captures  the  fish  and  drops  him  into  a 
creel  slung  by  his  side.  The  best  of  these  is  the  "  lola," 
which  is  rather  like  a  very  large  ungainly  trout,  but  is  con- 
sidered excellent. 

Once  more  we  took  the  road,  or  rather  what  the  fine  old 
village  chief  who  led  the  way  on  foot  was  pleased  to  call 
the  path,  sometimes  along  the  dry  bed  of  rocky  streams, 
passing  as  best  the  horses  could  under  or  over  fallen  trees, 
then  through  parched  jungle,  all  burnt  up  with  the  drought, 
except  the  scarlet  ixora ;  even  the  great  tree  cactii  and  bare 
knotted  ropes  of  giant  lianas  looking  more  weird  than  ever 
without  their  accustomed  veiling  of  delicate  foliage. 

At  last,  after  four  hours  of  this  slow,  hot  march,  we  sud- 
denly emerged  on  the  high-road,  with  telegraph  posts  and  all 
other  proofs  of  a  return  to  civilised  life,  and  found  ourselves 
at  the  village  of  Gal-Oya,  where  a  most  wretched  mud-hut 
was  signified  with  the  name  of  a  Government  rest-house. 
There  we  spent  a  broiling  day,  and  repeated  the  programme 
on  the  following  day  in  the  rest-house  at  Alutoya.  The 
third  day  brought  us  to  the  margin  of  the  great  ancient 
tank  of  Kanthalay,  which  is  apparently  about  as  large  ■  as 
Minery,  but  with  a  more  deeply  indented  shore-line.  I  had 
to  explore  alone,  my  companions  being  too  thoroughly 
exhausted  by  the  great  heat. 

This  also  is  a  very  pretty  scene — a  great  ruined  embank- 
ment of  huge  cut  stones  all  overgrown  with  fine  old  trees  ; 
an  enormous  pile  of  hewn  blocks  marking  the  site  of  the 
ruined  sluice,  masses  of  dark  chocolate-coloured  rock,  dreamy 
ranges  of  far  distant  hills,  and  the  calm  lake  reflecting  all 
the  beauties  of  earth  and  sky.  Not  a  sound  to  break  the 
stillness  save  the  occasional  shrill  cry  of  passing  wild-duck 
or  other  water-fowl.     Now  and  again  a  flash  of  lovely  colour 


138  POLLANARUA. 

as  a  dainty  kingfisher  or  some  other  fairy  of  the  bird- 
world  flashed  by.  Shortly  after  that  date,  however,  this  tank 
was  eflfectually  restored,  and  though  the  people  were  very 
slow  in  profiting  by  the  boon,  it  is  now  a  centre  of  extensive 
cultivation  and  of  a  flourishing  population. 

The  lake,  as  I  have  mentioned,  was  originally  formed  by 
King  Maha  Sen  about  a.d.  275,  but  it,  and  the  great  feed- 
ing canal  connecting  it  with  Minery,  were  practically  remade 
by  Prakrama  Bahu  about  1153,  forming  part  of  that  vast 
series  of  navigable  waters  known  as  the  Seas  of  Praki'ama. 
(I  think  I  have  mentioned  that  he  is  said  to  have  con- 
structed 1407  tanks,  and  to  have  repaired  1395.)  Prakrama's 
great  canal  is  believed  to  have  carried  its  water-supply 
twenty-four  miles  farther,  to  irrigate  the  once  fertile  plains 
of  Tamblegam,  close  to  Trincomalee.  But,  in  some  time 
of  overwhelming  flood,  these  plains  were  transformed  to  a 
great  lake,  whose  waters  forced  a  passage  to  the  sea,  and 
then,  in  turn,  received  the  tribute  of  the  great  ocean  in  an 
influx  of  salt  water. 

Once  admitted,  it  has  never  again  been  possible  to  ex- 
clude the  sea,  so  that  Tamblegam  is  now  a  large,  brackish 
lake  swarming  with  fish,  but  chiefly  notable  for  its  immense 
beds  of  small  semi-transparent  oysters,  about  six  inches  in 
diameter,  and  very  flat.  They  are  largely  used  in  China 
as  a  substitute  for  glass  in  ornamental  windows,  so  many 
are  exported  thither,  and  many  more  are  burnt  as  yielding 
peculiarly  fine  lime  for  betel-chewers.  So  wonderfully  are 
creatures  adapted  for  their  varying  conditions  of  existence, 
that  these  oysters  flourish  only  in  brackish  water,  and 
serious  mortality  results  when  either  fresh  or  salt  water 
predominates,  as  happens  in  season  of  flood  or  drought. 

We  passed  this  wide,  glassy  lake  on  the  following  day, 


LAKE    TAMBLEGAM.  139 

on  our  way  from  Kanthalay  to  Trincomalee  (a  distance  of 
twenty-six  miles),  the  latter  a  very  beautiful  spot,  which 
was  destined  to  prove  the  farthest  point  of  this  expedition, 
and  where  our  stay  was  considerably  prolonged  owing  to 
the  Bishop's  very  serious  illness. 


140 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


TRINCOMALEE SAAMI  ROCK. 


Trincomalee  Harbour — Fort  Austenberg — Fort  Frederick — The  Saaiui 
Rock — Birds — Hot  springs — Palmyra-palms — Tlie  Lily  shore. 

I  SUPPOSE  that,  with  the  exception  of  Rio  in  Brazil  and 
Sydney  in  Australia,  few  of  the  world's  harbours  excel  Trin- 
comalee in  beauty  and  security. 

So  perfectly  is  it  landlocked  that,  as  we  stood  on  the  high 
ramparts  of  Fort  Austenberg,  looking  down  on  the  inner 
harbour,  on  whose  clear,  green  waters  floated  several  British 
men-of-war,  it  was  scarcely  possible  to  believe  that  this  was 
indeed  an  arm  of  that  sea  which  lay  wrapped  in  purple 
gloom  beyond  a  wide  expanse  of  dark  palmyra-palms. 

One  of  the  officers  had  kindly  provided  for  me  a  shelter 
from  sun  and  rain  by  spreading  a  thick  matting  of  palm 
leaves  over  one  of  the  embrasures,  and  as  I  sat  there  hour 
after  hour  sketching  that  beautiful  panorama,  I  saw  nothing 
of  the  passage  by  which  these  vessels  had  entered  this  calm 
haven  from  the  great  outer  ocean,  and  which  is  protected 
by  a  reef  stretching  far  out  to  sea,  forming  a  perfect  break- 
water. My  attention  was  called  to  the  fact  that,  so  deep 
are  these  placid  waters,  large  vessels  can  lie  so  close  in- 
shore as  to  discharge  their  cargo  without  the  use  of  boats, 
their  yard-arms  actually  projecting  over  the  wharf.  I  was 
told  (but  whether  true  or  not  I  cannot  say)  that  the  depth 


SHARKS.  141 

is  really  so  great  tbat  it  has  never  been  fathomed,  which 
gives  rise  to  a  theory  that  this  harbour  is  the  crater  of  a 
submerged  volcano. 

More  tempting  swimming-baths  could  scarcely  be  ima- 
gined than  some  of  the  sheltered  inlets  of  this  deep,  calm 
sea-lake  ;  but,  alas  !  even  here  danger  sometimes  lurks  in  the 
form  of  venturesome  ground-sharks,  and  there  is  a  sad  tradi- 
tion of  how  once,  when  a  party  of  soldiers  were  bathing 
below  the  fort,  their  comrades  on  shore  perceived  the  dim 
form  of  a  large  shark  rising  in  pursuit  of  a  lad  who  had 
just  taken  a  header  into  the  depths.  All  unconscious  of 
danger,  he  rose  cheerily  to  the  surface,  but  a  moment  later 
a  cry  of  agony  rent  the  air  as  the  lad  disappeared,  and  the 
waters  were  reddened  with  his  life-blood.  Quick  as  thought 
a  soldier  dived  at  the  very  spot,  and  quickly  reappeared, 
bringing  the  poor  young  fellow's  head  and  shoulders — 
the  body  having  been  bitten  in  two  by  the  shark,  who 
escaped  safely  with  the  lower  half,  and  was  never  seen 
again,  though  many  days  were  devoted  to  the  attempt  to 
capture  him. 

Right  below  me  lay  the  Dockyard,  the  Naval  Stores 
Depot,  and  the  Admiralty.  Not  the  shipping  only,  but  also 
charmingly  wooded  isles  lay  mirrored  in  that  quiet  inland 
lake  ;  while  beyond  the  white  sands  of  the  farther  shore,  red- 
tiled  houses,  embowered  in  pleasant  gardens,  indicated  the 
direction  of  a  town  with  some  eleven  thousand  inhabitants, 
stretching  round  a  horse-shoe-shaped  bay,  the  entrance  to 
which  is  guarded  by  two  rocky  headlands,  on  the  nearest  of 
which,  overshadowed  by  grand  old  trees,  stands  the  Govern- 
ment Agent's  house  ^  (a  spot  endeared  to  us  all  by  the  recol- 

^  The  seat  of  the  Government  Agency  was  shortly  afterwards  removed  to 
Batticaloa. 


142  TRINCOMALEE — SAAMI   ROCK. 

lection  of  the  sympathetic  and  considerate  hospitality  which 
there  enfolded  us  in  a  time  of  grave  anxiety.^ 

The  farther  point  of  the  horse-shoe  is  a  bold  peninsula 
rising  from  the  ocean  in  a  sheer  precipice  about  four  hundred 
feet  in  height,  and  thence  sloping  gently  towards  the  shore, 
with  which  it  is  connected  by  a  long  flat  neck  of  grassy 
sand.  Fort  Frederick,  by  which  name  this  fortified  crag  is 
known  to  Europeans,  guards  the  outer  harbour,  and  is  the 
military  headquarters.  To  the  natives,  however,  this  bold 
headland  is  still,  as  it  has  been  from  time  immemorial,  the 
Saami  (or,  as  it  would  be  pronounced  in  India,  Swami)  Rock, 
or  Rock  of  God,  sacred  to  the  worship  of  Eiswarama,  The 
Almighty  God. 

(It  is  said  the  original  name  of  this  place  was  Tirukko- 
natha-malai,  i.e.,  "  the  Mountain  of  Holy  Konathar,"  whoever 
he  may  have  been.) 

Nothing  has  struck  me  more  forcibly  in  the  course  of 
my  travels  than  the  fact  of  how  often  the  people  living  in 
a  place  take  no  interest  whatever,  and  probably  ignore  the 
existence,  of  some  local  custom  or  legend  which  to  the 
traveller  is  the  point  of  chief  interest  in  the  district. 

This  I  found  to  be  emphatically  the  case  at  Trincomalee. 
Many  years  ago  I  had  been  told  by  Mr.  Forbes  Leslie  that 
he  had  here  witnessed  a  strikingly  picturesque  form  of 
aboriginal  worship,  so  one  of  my  first  inquiries  on  arriving 
in  the  district  was  whether  the  ancient  worship  on  the  rock 
was  still  carried  on.  I  was  assured  on  all  hands  that  it 
was  entirely  given  up. 

However,  on  the  very  evening  of  our  arrival  at  Fort 
Frederick,  a  natural  instinct  led  me  past  the  old  Dutch 
burial-ground,  with  its  moss-grown  graves  overshadowed  by 

^  Owing  to  the  Bishop's  serious  illness. 


/^ 


WORSHIP    ON    THE    CRAG.  143 

flowering  surya-trees,  to  the  brink  of  the  highest  precipice, 
which  in  itself  is  so  very  grand  that  I  determined  to  lose 
no  time  in  securing  a  picture  of  it. 

So  thither  I  wended  my  way  at  daybreak  on  Monday, 
September  29th/  returning  in  the  afternoon  to  colour  my 
morning's  pencil  sketch.  Just  as  I  was  finishing  my  work, 
or  rather  was  compelled  to  halt  for  the  evening  in  order  to 
watch  the  marvellous  loveliness  of  the  sunset  lights  and 
colours  which  flooded  the  wide  sea  and  rocks  with  opal 
tints  of  dreamy  beauty,  through  which  one  by  one  the  stars 
began  to  glimmer,  I  observed  that  first  one,  then  another 
and  another  native,  both  men  and  women,  were  taking  up 
positions  on  the  crag,  each  carrying  either  a  bunch  of  fruit 
or  a  chatty  of  milk  or  water. 

Ere  long  about  forty  had  assembled,  including  one  who 
acted  the  part  of  priest.  He  was  clothed  with  scanty 
saffron- coloured  cloth,  and  had  a  string  of  large  black 
beads  round  his  head.  He  stood  on  the  utmost  verge 
of  the  crag,  and  the  worshippers,  having  laid  at  his  feet 
their  offerings  of  cocoa-nuts,  lovely  cocoa-palm  blossoms, 
betel  leaves,  bunches  of  plantains,  flowers,  coins,  small 
Imskets  of  grain,  or  whatever  else  they  had  to  give, 
clustered  around  wherever  they  could  find  a  footing  on  the 
rock  or  the  slippery  grass  while  the  priest  performed  his 
ceremonial  ablutions  for  purification  in  water  poured  from 
a  brass  lota. 

As  the  sunset  glories  faded  and  the  stars  shone  out  more 
brilliantly  the  priest  intoned  a  litany,  to  which  all  devoutly 
responded  ;  then  one  by  one  he  took  the  chatties  of  good 
milk  or   water,   and    poured    them   out   on    the    rock    as    a 

'  Sir  James  Emerson  Tennant  mentions  this  worship  as  occurring  once  a 
year,  on  the  23r(i  January. 


144  TRINCOMALEE— SAAMI    ROCK. 

libation.^  After  this,  while  still  chanting  the  litany,  he 
took  each  gift,  and  from  his  giddy  height  cast  it  into  the 
fathomless  ocean,  far,  far  below,  a  true  offering  to  the 
Almighty  Giver. 

Then  kindling  a  fire  on  the  rock  pinnacle,  he  thrice  raised 
a  blazing  brand  on  high,  and  all  the  people  threw  their 
arms  heavenward.  Afterwards  he  lighted  a  brazen  censer 
and  swung  it  high  above  his  head,  till  the  still  evening 
air  was  all  perfumed  by  the  fragrant  incense.  Finally, 
descending  from  his  post  of  danger  and  honour,  he  took 
ashes  from  the  sacred  fire  and  therewith  marked  each 
worshipper  on  the  forehead,  after  which  they  silently  dis- 
persed, and  in  the  quiet  starlight  wended  their  way  back  to 
lower  earth. 

A  more  strikingly  impressive  scene  I  have  never  wit- 
nessed, and  I  need  scarcely  say  that  to  me  it  proved  so 
irresistibly  attractive  that  again  and  again  I  found  my  way 
at  sunset  to  the  same  spot,  whence  I  commanded  so  perfect 
a  view  of  the  Saami  Rock.  I  found  that  the  worshippers 
assembled  there  every  Monday  and  Friday  evening,  and  one 
night  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  witness  this  ceremony  just 
at  the  moment  when  the  great  full  moon  was  rising  from 
the  waters,  and  nothing  more  solemn  could  be  conceived. 
There  was  the  mellow  lio^ht  of  the  moon  floodinof  the  calm 
sea,  and  the  red  firelight  glowing  on  the  dark  crag  and  on 
the  brown  skin  and  white  turbans  and  drapery  of  the  wor- 

^  Precisely  as  was  done  by  our  own  ancestors — a  custom  kept  up  in 
many  a  corner  of  Great  Britain  long  after  Cliristianity  was  the  only 
recognised  religion  in  the  land.  For  instances  of  such  libations  being 
offered  even  in  the  List  century  in  o\u  northern  isles  and  Highlands 
see  "In  t\ie  Hebrides,"  pp.  71  and  192  to  194.  By  C.  F.  Gordon- 
Cumming.     Published  by  Chatto  &  Windus. 


TEMPLE    OF    A    THOUSAND    COLUMNS.  145 

shippers,  while  from  across  the   harbour  flashed  one  vivid 
terrestrial  star  from  the  lighthouse  on  Foul  Point. 

It  seems  that  at  the  time  when  the  Tamil  conquerors 
crossed  from  the  coast  of  Malabar  and  invaded  Ceylon,  they 
resolved  to  appropriate  a  spot  so  venerated  by  the  aborigines  ; 
so  having  (so  they  said)  proved  from  their  sacred  Puranas 
that  Trincomalee  was  a  fragment  of  the  holy  ]\Iount  Meru, 
which  had  been  hurled  from  heaven  in  a  celestial  turmoil,  they 
thereon  built  a  stately  shrine  dedicated  to  Siva,  and  which 
is  still  remembered  as  the  shrine  of  a  Thousand  Columns. 

In  the  year  a.d,  1622,  however,  the  Dutch  deeming  it 
necessary  to  erect  forts  at  various  important  points  in  order 
to  secure  themselves  against  the  Portuguese,  took  possession 
of  Trincomalee,  and  ruthlessly  appropriated  the  great  temple 
as  the  quarry  to  supply  building  material  for  their  fortifica- 
tions. Consequently  sculptured  and  carved  stones  are  still 
to  be  discerned  here  and  there  in  the  walls  of  Fort  Fre- 
derick (a  name  said  to  have  been  bestowed  in  honour  of 
Frederick  William,  Elector  of  Brandenburg). 

One  solitary  pillar  on  the  highest  point  of  the  crag  com- 
memorates the  suicide  in  a.d.  1687  of  Francina  Van  Reede, 
a  Dutch  maiden  of  good  family,  whoso  betrothed  had  for- 
saken her,  and  had  embarked  for  Europe  with  his  regiment. 
Ere  the  vessel  could  clear  the  coast,  she  had  to  tack,  and 
again  ran  close  inshore  beneath  this  precipice,  and  at  that 
moment  the  girl  sprang  from  the  dizzy  summit,  and,  in  pre- 
sence of  her  faithless  lover,  fell  a  mangled  corpse  on  the 
dark  rocks  which  jut  through  the  surging  surf  far  below. 

Although  the  aforesaid  pillar  bears  a  Dutch  inscription 
recording  this  sad  event,  it  is  so  precisely  like  some  of  the 
most  prominent  pillars  in  the  ruined  wave-washed  temple  at 
Dondra  Head  (the  southernmost  point  of  the  Isle) — pillars 

VOL.  II.  K 


14G  TRINCOMALEE. 

with  the  identical  alternate  sections,  square  and  octagonal — 
that  I  have  little  doubt  that  this  was  one  of  the  "  Thousand 
Columns  "  of  Siva's  shrine. 

I  ascertained  that  the  officiating  priest  of  the  rock,  though 
not  a  true  Brahman,  was  one  of  the  spurious  low-caste 
Brahmans  so  common  in  Southern  India,^  who  habitually 
minister  at  the  blood-stained  altars  of  Siva,  with  whom 
Eiswarama  has  been  so  artfully  identified  ;  indeed,  I  learnt 
that  the  Saami  E,ock  is  often  described  as  Kon-Eiswara- 
Parvatia,  thus  also  honouring  Siva's  wife,  the  goddess 
Parvati. 

There  is,  however,  no  doubt  that  the  worship  of  Eiswara  is 
by  far  the  most  ancient  faith  of  the  island,  and  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  this  striking  ceremonial  has  continued 
unchanged  from  remote  ages.  Whole  dynasties  have  arisen 
and  become  extinct — conquering  races  from  India,  Portugal, 
Holland,  and  Britain  have  successively  held  sway  in  the  fair 
Isle,  and  the  one  thing  which  has  continued  the  same  from 
generation  to  generation  has  been  this  evening  sacrifice. 

"  Not  'neatli  the  domes  where  crumbling  arch  and  cohimn 
Attest  the  feebleness  of  mortal  hand, 
But  in  that  fane,  most  catholic  and  solemn, 
Which  God  hath  planned. 
In  that  cathedral,  boundless  as  our  wonder, 
Whose  quenchless  lamps  the  Sun  and  Moon  supply, 
Its  choir  the  winds  and  waves,  its  organ,  thunder. 
Its  dome  the  sky." 

To  me  it  seemed  a  very  impressive  and  simple  act  of 
worship,  singularly  free  from   idolatry,  and  in  very  marked 

1  "  In  the  Himalayas  and  on  Indian  Plains,"  pp.  578-580.  Published 
by  Chatto  &  Windus.  For  a  curious  example  of  a  very  venerated  and 
most  foul  Hindoo  shrine  being  enclosed  within  tbe  great  Mahommedan 
— now  British — fort  at  Allahabad,  see  p.  75  of  the  above. 


MILITARY    PRECAUTIONS.  147 

contrast  witli  tlie  many  painful  forms  of  devil-worship  which 
met  us  at  every  turn  in  the  beautiful  Isle  of  Palms. 

I  confess  to  a  feeling  of  real  regret  when  I  learnt  how, 
in  September  1889,  this  solemn  natural  shi-ine  had  become 
the  scene  of  contention  between  the  priests  of  rival  sects,  a 
Pandaram  priest  appealing  against  a  Brahman  for  declaring 
that  he  alone  was  entitled  to  officiate  as  priest  at  the  Saami 
Hock,  and  there  to  perform  Sivite  religious  ceremonies.  The 
dispute  ended  in  a  civil  trial  before  the  District  Judge,  each 
party  being  defended  by  native  counsel,  and  the  case  was 
given  in  favour  of  the  Pandaram  priest,  to  whom  were 
awarded  damages  to  the  value  of  120  rupees. 

Moreover,  in  consequence  of  the  increased  military  pre- 
cautions at  Trincomalee,  it  has  been  decided  that  henceforth 
worshippers  will  only  be  allowed  access  to  the  Saami  Rock 
on  the  first  and  last  Fridays  of  each  month,  no  one  being 
now  admitted  to  Fort  Frederick  without  a  pass  from  the 
Commandant. 

In  truth,  not  for  the  sake  of  Ceylon  only,  but  for  the 
protection  of  the  world's  mercantile  marine,  there  was  much 
need  to  strengthen  the  somewhat  antiquated  military  de- 
fences of  this  magnificent  harbour:  and  as  regards  Fort 
Frederick,  isolated  as  it  is  from  the  mainland  by  the  low 
grassy  neck  of  the  peninsula,  one  cannot  but  fear  that,  in 
case  of  a  siege,  the  beleaguered  garrison  would  find  them- 
selves in  as  difficult  a  position  as  were  the  Dutch  when 
in  August  1795,  they  were  here  besieged  by  a  British  force, 
consisting  of  the  71st,  72nd,  73rd,  and  77th  regiments 
together  with  artillery,  and  two  battalions  of  Sepoys,  under 
command  of  General  Stewart.  As  they  entered  the  harbour 
one  frigate  struck  on  a  sunken  rock  and  was  lost.  At  the 
end   of  three  weeks  the  garrison  was  forced  to  capitulate 


148  TRINCOMALEE. 

since  which  time  the  Union  Jack  has  here  floated  in  undis- 
turbed possession. 

Previous  to  that  date  this  beautiful  bay  had  witnessed 
many  a  struggle  between  the  covetous  European  Powers, 
who  each  craved  a  monopoly  of  Singhalese  commerce.  First 
of  all,  in  1G12,  the  King  of  Kandy,  who  hoped  by  the  aid 
of  the  Dutch  to  get  rid  of  the  Portuguese,  permitted  the 
former  to  erect  a  fort  at  Cottiar,  on  the  southern  side  of  the 
Bay  of  Trincomalee.  This,  however,  was  no  sooner  done  than 
it  was  captured  and  destroyed  by  a  Portuguese  force,  which 
had  rapidly  marched  across  the  Isle  from  Colombo  or  Negombo. 

In  1622  the  Dutch  seized  and  garrisoned  Trincomalee 
itself,  but  finding  that  holding  forts  on  the  east  coast  of  the 
Isle  was  of  no  avail  in  securing  the  cinnamon  trade  of  the 
western  provinces,  they  shortly  after  abandoned  both  Trin- 
comalee and  Batticaloa. 

Thus  it  was  that  when,  in  1657,  the  A7171  frigate  of  Lon- 
don, a  trading  vessel  commanded  by  Captain  Robert  Knox 
for  "  the  Honourable  the  East  India  Company,"  was  driven 
to  anchor  in  Cottiar  Bay  for  necessary  repairs,  they  found 
there  no  Europeans,  but  what  seemed  at  first  a  very  kind 
welcome  from  the  natives.  The  story  of  the  treacherous 
seizure  of  the  captain,  his  son,  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
crew,  and  the  graphic  account  of  the  then  quite  unknown 
interior  of  the  island,  and  the  customs  of  the  king  and 
people  of  Kandy,  which  was  published  by  Robert  Knox, 
junior  (when,  after  twenty  years  of  captivity,  he  at  length 
contrived  to  escape,  and  after  infinite  diJEculties  reached  the 
Dutch  fort  of  Arrepa,  near  Manaar,  on  the  north-east  coast), 
is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  interesting  volumes  of 
pioneer  travel.  The  modern  Cottiar  is  a  populous  village 
of  industrious  Tamils. 


FORTUNES    OF    WAR.  149 

The  Dutch  subsequently  reoccupied  the  forts  of  Cottiar 
and  Batticaloa,  both  of  which,  strange  to  say,  they  aban- 
doned without  a  blow  in  1672  in  their  panic  at  the  sudden 
arrival  of  the  French  squadron  under  Admiral  De  la  Haye. 
The  French  at  once  took  possession  of  Trincomalee,  but 
being  unable  to  maintain  a  firm  hold  in  the  island,  they 
disappeared  as  unexpectedly  as  they  had  arrived.  At  that 
time  the  Dutch  had  about  a  hundred  ships  constantly  trad- 
ing between  Cottiar  and  Coromandel,  whence  they  brought 
clothes  and  other  wares  to  exchange  for  timber,  areca-nuts, 
palmyra- sugar,  and  rice. 

In  1782  Great  Britain  first  appeared  on  the  scene.  War 
having  been  declared  against  Holland,  a  British  force,  com- 
manded by  Sir  Hector  Munro,  took  possession  of  Trin- 
comalee, which,  however,  was  so  inadequately  garrisoned 
that  it  was  almost  immediately  afterwards  surprised  by  the 
French  fleet  commanded  by  Admiral  Suffrein,  by  whom  the 
British  force  was  removed  to  Madras,  and  in  the  following 
year  Trincomalee  was  restored  to  the  Dutch. 

But  the  time  had  now  come  for  British  rule  in  Ceylon, 
and  in  1795  Lord  Hobart,  Governor  of  Madras,  fitted  out 
the  expedition  commanded  by  General  Stewart,  which  landed 
at  Trincomalee,  and,  as  I  have  already  stated,  captured  the 
fort  after  a  three  weeks'  siege.  Then,  in  rapid  succession, 
Jaffna,  Calpentyn,  Negombo,  Colombo,  Caltura,  Point  de 
Galle,  Matura,  and  all  other  strongholds  of  the  Dutch,  were 
ceded  to  the  English,  who  thus  became  the  undisputed 
rulers  of  the  maritime  provinces,  and  no  clamour  of  war 
has  since  then  disturbed  the  peace  of  this  fair  harbour. 

In  1801,  however,  no  less  than  five  thousand  British 
troops  assembled  here  under  command  of  Colonel  Arthur 
Wellesley  (the  great  Duke  of  Wellington),  with  the  inten- 


150  TRINCOMALEE. 

tion  of  proceeding  hence  to  Java ;  but  this  force  was 
ordered  to  Egypt  under  Sir  David  Baird,  and  Colonel 
Wellesley  returned  to  India. 

Latterly  the  garrison  has  numbered  about  400  men  of  the 
Engineers,  Highlanders,  Artillery,  and  Pioneer  force,  besides 
those  employed  at  the  Naval  Depot.  Now,  however,  pru- 
dence requires  the  adoption  of  necessary  precautions,  there- 
fore modern  science  is  being  brought  to  bear  in  all  direc- 
tions ;  and  what  with  the  enlarging  and  strengthening  of  the 
old  forts,  and  building  of  a  new  one,  and  of  extensive  bar- 
racks for  a  greatly  increased  military  force,  while  the  resto- 
ration of  the  great  tank  at  Kanthalay  is  bestowing  new  life 
on  all  the  agricultural  population  of  the  district,  Trincomalee 
is  fast  becoming  a  place  of  very  much  greater  importance 
than  it  was  at  the  time  of  our  visit ;  but  whether  it  will  not 
thereby  lose  much  of  its  charm  is  another  question. 

It  is  not  often  that  I  am  attracted  by  the  picturesqueness 
of  Dutch  buildings,  but  within  Fort  Frederick,  beneath  the 
cool  shade  of  large  dark  trees,  there  is  a  most  fascinating 
old  well.  Two  heavy  pillars  coated  with  cream-coloured 
chuuam,  once  polished  like  marble,  but  now  partially  stained 
with  orange-coloured  lichen,  support  a  heavy  overhanging 
roof  of  rounded  red  tiles,  which  are  the  playground  of  many 
squirrels.  To  a  stout  rafter  is  attached  a  pulley  over  which 
passes  a  long  rope ;  to  this  is  attached  the  bucket  wherewith 
brown  men  (clothed  only  in  a  white  waist-cloth  and  scarlet 
turban)  fill  their  great  red  water-pots  for  domestic  use.  It 
is  all  very  pleasant  to  the  artistic  sense,  though  I  suppose 
we  must  admit  that  for  practical  purposes  unromantic  leaden 
pipes  have  their  advantages ! 

But  for  a  never-failing  supply  of  sketchable  scenes,  one 
has  only  to  turn  to  the  nearest  temple,  whether  Tamil  or 


SDNBIRDS.  151 

Buddhist,  and  here  at  a  small  Hindoo  temple  I  found  a  most 
primitive  Juggernath  car,  adorned  with  gaudy  mythological 
pictures  and  thatched  with  dry  palmyra  leaves  of  a  pale 
straw  colour.  It  was  drawn  on  a  rude  wooden  platform 
supported  by  four  heavy  unwieldy  wheels,  each  constructed 
of  three  solid  wooden  planks,  fastened  together  by  cross- 
pieces  of  roughly-shaped  wood.  A  very  brown  old  Tamil 
priest,  with  scanty  yellow  drapery,  stood  beside  the  rickety 
old  car,  shading  himself  with  part  of  a  dry  taliput  palm- 
leaf — a  fine  study  in  colour.  In  the  background  stood  the 
domed  temple  with  red  pillars  and  red  wall,  surrounded  by 
cocoa  and  palmyra  palms,  each  laden  with  golden  nuts. 

Close  by,  a  statuesque  brown  water-carrier  was  drawing 
his  supplies  from  a  rude  well  by  means  of  a  red  jar  slung 
on  a  bamboo,  which  creaked  ceaselessly  as  it  rose  and  fell, 
emulating  the  harsh  cries  of  sundry  birds  and  insects. 

One  very  attractive  small  bird  which  walks  tamely  about 
the  gardens  at  Trincomalee  has  a  purple  head  and  breast  and 
sienna  back.  It  roosts  in  the  palms,  and  we  were  often 
startled  by  its  resounding  sonorous  call — a  single  note, 
*'  Hoop  !  hoop  !  " — so  deep  and  far-carrying  that  on  a  still 
evening  it  is  heard  very  far  off.  I  was  told  that  this  was 
a  jungle-crow,  but  as  this  name  was  also  applied  to  a 
larger  bird,  somewhat  suggestive  of  a  magpie,  except  that 
instead  of  being  black  and  white  its  colouring  is  brown  and 
black  and  its  eyes  red,  I  cannot  venture  to  say  which  bird 
is  entitled  to  the  name. 

Still  more  fascinating  are  the  dainty  little  sunbirds,  which 
with  long  brush-like  tongue  capture  insects,  and  also  feed 
on  nectar  of  flowers.  Some  have  maroon  bands  on  the 
breast,  others  primrose-colour ;  they  love  the  fragrant  pink 
oleander  and  scarlet  hybiscus  with  glossy  dark-green  foliage. 


152  TRINCOMALEE. 

The  Singhalese  call  these  dainty  creatures  "  Flower-honey 
birds."  One  of  very  brilliant  plumage  is  distinguished  as 
the  tiny  sunbird,  being  only  three  and  a  half  inches  long. 
It  is,  however,  very  rare. 

Happily  the  lovely  little  purple  sunbird  is  more  common. 
Its  head  and  throat  are  of  a  bright  metallic  green,  shading 
into  the  glossy  purple  of  back  and  tail,  while  beneath  each 
wing  is  a  tuft  of  gold,  displayed  when  the  dainty  chirping 
creature  is  fluttering  over  flowers  to  extract  their  honey. 
Not  that  it  confines  itself  to  nectar  only,  for  it  thoroughly 
enjoys  good  substantial  spiders.  It  builds  a  most  artistic 
pear-shaped  nest  of  grass,  interwoven  with  hair  and  spider's- 
web,  and  lined  with  feathers  and  tufts  of  silky  cotton.  This 
is  deitly  slung  from  the  bough  of  some  shrub,  and  herein  in 
the  month  of  April  it  lays  two  or  three  greenish  eggs  with 
brown  specks.  Of  course  in  autumn  we  saw  only  empty 
nests. 

Then  there  are  the  wren-babblers  and  scimitar-babbler 
(the  latter  so  called  because  of  its  long  curved  yellow  beak), 
neat  little  brown  birds,  common  in  the  low-country  jungle, 
which  run  up  and  down  trees,  hopping  and  jerking  like 
woodpeckers,  hunting  for  insects.  They  utter  a  loud  melo- 
dious call,  with  very  varied  notes,  and  are  cheery  compa- 
nions when  one  is  sitting  quietly  sketching.  There  are  also 
exquisite  little  flower-peckers,  peculiar  to  Ceylon;  some 
very  gaily  coloured,  with  dark-blue  back,  yellow  breast,  and 
white  throat ;  others  all  olive-green  except  the  stomach, 
which  is  grey. 

Speaking  of  birds,  a  kind  of  swallow  was  pointed  out  to 
me,  which  is  also  said  to  be  peculiar  to  Ceylon,  and  which 
not  only  builds  on  houses,  just  as  our  own  do,  but  also  in 
marshy  places  and  near  rice-fields.     Its  throat  and  breast 


HOT   SPRINGS    AT   KANNYA.  153 

are  brown,  but  its  back  and  wings  are  black,  and  its  gene- 
ral appearance  sufficiently  suggestive  of  our  own  familiar 
friends  to  be  very  pleasant  in  a  far  country. 

I  found  so  much  attractive  sketching-ground  in  the 
immediate  neighbourhood  of  Trincomalee  that  I  did  not 
care  to  go  very  far  afield.  But  one  lovely  morning  we 
drove  at  dawn  to  the  Periyakulam,  one  of  the  ancient  tanks, 
which  is  now,  like  so  many  others,  simply  a  pretty  lake 
covered  with  waterlilies.  On  the  embankment  stands  a 
gigantic  upright  boulder,  known  as  the  Nine-Pin  Rock, 
which  looks  as  if  it  must  topple  over  with  the  first  strong 
gale.  It  would  be  curious  to  know  for  how  many  centuries 
it  has  held  its  ground. 

One  of  our  pleasantest  early  morning  rides  was  to  visit 
a  group  of  seven  hot  springs  on  a  wooded  hill-range  about 
eight  miles  from  Trincomalee.  Ceylon  is  so  free  from  any 
trace  of  recent  volcanic  agency  that  a  very  special  interest 
attaches  to  these.^  The  place  is  called  Kannya,  some  say 
in  "  memory  of"  seven  celestial  virgins  ;"  others  say  in  honour 
of  Kannya,  the  mother  of  the  arch-demon  Ravana,  and  that 
she  is  here  worshipped  by  the  Tamils,  who  come  to  observe 
certain  rites  on  the  thirtieth  day  after  the  death  of  their 
kinsfolk.  A  ruined  temple,  sacred  to  Ganesa,  the  elephant- 
headed  god  of  wisdom,  proves  that  he  received  at  least  a 
share  of  homage. 

Some  distance  to  the  north,  at  Mannakandal,  in  the 
Wanni,  there  are  sundry  Buddhist  ruins  in  the  heart  of  the 
jungle ;  amongst  others,  those  of  seven  temples  within  one 
enclosure.      These  are  called  Kannya-kovil,  and  are  said  to 

^  There  are  also  hot  springs  at  Eadulla,  Tatipal  Aar,  near  Batticaloa, 
Kitool,  and  Jledawewa,  near  Bintcnne,  and  at  Yavi  Goto,  in  the  Veddah 
country.     In  all  the  water  is  so  pure  as  to  be  good  for  cooking  purposes. 

'  Kannee,  "  a  virgin." 


164  TRINCOxMALEE. 

have  been  erected  by,  or  else  dedicated  to,  seven  virgin 
princesses  of  the  Wanni  district. 

The  seven  springs  were  taken  in  hand  by  the  Dutch  as 
beiug  healing  waters,  and  were  confined  within  seven  tanks 
of  carefully  regulated  degrees  of  heat.  All  are  now  in 
ruins,  but  the  springs  are  found  to  vary  in  temperature  at 
different  seasons  from  85°  to  122°  Fahr.  Marvellous  to 
relate,  even  when  the  thermometer  has  indicated  the  latter 
degree  of  heat,  live  fish  of  several  species — carp,  roach,  and 
others — have  been  taken  from  these  springs,  and  in  the 
streamlet  which  flows  from  them. 

We  were  not  so  fortunate  as  to  see  any  of  these  eccentric 
fishes,  so  contented  ourselves  with  watching  the  play  of 
some  harmless  snakes  while  we  sat  under  the  beautiful 
kitool,  areca,  and  cocoa  palms  which  overshadowed  the 
dilapidated  tanks,  enjoying  our  breakfast  and  tea  made 
with  clear  pure  water  from  one  of  the  boiling  springs. 

These  families  of  the  great  clan  Palm  are  comparatively 
rare  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Trincomalee,  where  the  vast 
cocoa-groves  of  the  southern  provinces  are  replaced  by  an 
incalculable  multitude  of  palmyra-palms,^  which  form  a  belt 
of  dai'k-sfreen  all  alonor  the  coast,  flourishing^  even  on  the 
brink  of  the  salt  coral-sand,  where  at  high  tide  the  blue 
waters  bathe  the  roots  of  their  sturdy  black  stems,  which 
stand  like  regiments  of  well-drilled  soldiers,  faultlessly  up- 
right and  unbendingly  stiff. 

In  every  respect  they  present  a  curious  contrast  to  the 
graceful  cocoa-palm,  whose  white  stems  bend  in  every 
variety  of  symmetrical  curve,  while  their  long  slender  fronds 
(each  composed  of  a  multitude  of  sharp  glittering  sword- 
shaped  leaves)  are  rarely  for  one  moment  at  rest,  but  gleam 
^  Borassus  flahcUiformis. 


PALMYRA   PALMS.  155 

in  the  sunlight  while  ceaselessly  turning  and  trembling 
with  every  breath  of  air. 

The  palmyra-palm,  on  the  contrary,  rises  straight  to  a 
height  of  sixty  or  seventy  feet,  and  bears  a  thick  crown  of 
stiff  fan-shaped  leaves,  deeply  indented.  Beneath  them 
hang  clusters  of  beautifully  glossy  golden-brown  nuts,  each 
about  half  the  size  of  a  cocoa-nut,  but  quite  circular,  and  a 
full-grown  tree  bears  perhaps  eight  or  ten  bunches  of  these, 
with  a  dozen  or  more  in  each  cluster.  Seen  half  in  sun- 
light and  half  shadowed  by  the  dark  crown  of  foliage 
against  a  vividly  blue  sky,  these  brown  and  yellow  nuts  are 
beautiful,  but  as  a  fruit  they  have  none  of  the  charm  of  the 
cocoa-nut,  although  they  form  the  staple  food  of  the  popula- 
tion on  the  north-east  coast. 

The  glossy  outer  skin  is  so  hard  that  only  an  expert 
hand  can  tear  it  open.  Within  it,  and  mixed  with  fibre, 
is  a  farinaceous  pulp,  at  once  oily  and  gelatinous,  which 
even  the  natives  rarely  eat  raw,  but  when  roasted  or  dried 
in  the  sun  and  then  smoked,  it  is  largely  used  in  making 
curries  and  cakes.  It  is  said  to  be  excellent  when  half  ripe, 
but  is  then  very  liable  to  produce  dysentery.  Embedded 
within  this  pulp,  each  nut  contains  three  very  hard  kernels 
or  seeds,  and  of  the  myriads  of  these  which  are  annually 
sowed,  only  a  very  small  proportion  are  destined  to  become 
trees.  The  main  crop  is  dug  up  in  infancy,  when  the  root 
resembles  a  waxy  parsnip,  and  is  either  eaten  as  a  vegetable, 
or  dried  and  made  into  flour  something  like  tapioca.  This 
root  is  known  in  the  bazaars  as  hdingu,  and  the  dried  fruit 
is  punahi. 

A  cruelly  wasteful  delicacy  is  obtained  from  this,  as  from 
several  other  palms,  by  sacrificing  a  well-grown  young  tree 
for   the   sake   of   its    tender    leading    shoot,    which    much 


15G  TRINCOMALEE. 

resembles  a  gigantic  stalk  of  very  white  celery,  with  a 
pleasant  nutty  flavour. 

The  palmyra-palm  does  not  begin  bearing  fruit  till  it  is 
upwards  of  ten  years  of  age,  and  a  comparatively  small 
number  of  the  trees  are  allowed  to  develop  their  crop  of 
beautiful  nuts,  the  majority  being  tortured  into  yielding 
only  the  luscious  sap,  which  when  allowed  to  ferment  becomes 
slightly  intoxicating  and  is  known  as  toddy  (doubtless  so 
named  by  some  early  Scotch  planter,  in  remembrance  of  the 
whisky-toddy  of  the  North  !).  By  exposure  to  the  sun  the 
toddy  becomes  vinegar,  or,  if  sugar  is  required,  a  little  lime 
is  mixed  with  the  sap,  which  is  then  boiled  down  to  a  thick 
syrup,  and  poured  into  baskets  made  from  the  palmyra  leaf, 
and  allowed  to  harden.  In  this  state  it  is  sold  as  jaggery 
sugar,  of  which  a  very  large  amount  is  used  in  the  island. 

In  order  to  obtain  this  sap,  the  toddy-drawers,  who  are 
marvellously  expert  climbers,  ascend  to  the  crown  of  leaves, 
beneath  which,  each  cradled  in  a  long  solid  sheath  or  spathe, 
are  the  bunches  of  ivory-like  blossom  bearing  the  embryo 
nuts.  Each  spathe  having  been  tightly  bound  to  prevent 
its  expansion,  is  ruthlessly  beaten  every  morning  with  a 
heavy  wooden  mallet,  till  the  immature  flower  within,  instead 
of  developing  into  a  thing  of  loveliness,  is  reduced  to  pulp, 
but  without  injuring  its  outer  cover. 

After  about  a  week  of  this  maltreatment,  the  sap  begins 
to  flow,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  swarms  of  insects,  who 
assemble  to  feast  thereon,  and  in  their  turn  attract  flocks 
of  crows  and  various  insectivorous  birds.  These  again  afford 
many  a  dainty  meal  to  the  palm-cat  and  sundry  other  foes, 
who  climb  the  palms  in  pursuit  of  the  birds. 

Meanwhile,  the  toddy-drawer  having  cut  off"  the  tip  of  the 
spathe  to  allow  the  sap  to  drip,  hangs  a  small  clay  chattie 


TODDY-DRAWERS.  157 

or  a  gourd  beneath  each  bleeding  blossom,  and  thenceforth 
for  about  five  months  he  ascends  day  by  day  at  early  dawn 
to  collect  the  sap,  emptying  each  little  chattie  into  one 
suspended  from  his  waist,  and  when  that  is  full  he  lowers  it 
by  a  cord  to  an  assistant  below,  who  empties  it  into  a  larger 
one.  Every  day  he  cuts  a  thin  slice  off  the  poor  bruised 
flower  to  make  it  bleed  afresh,  and  each  flower  continues  to 
yield  sap  for  about  a  month. 

Each  tree  yields  on  an  average  about  three  quarts  a  day 
(the  produce  of  the  female  tree  is,  however,  considerably 
more  than  double  that  of  the  male  tree). 

Only  once  in  three  years  are  these  tortured  trees  allowed 
to  ripen  their  fruit,  in  order  to  save  their  lives,  as  otherwise 
they  would  die  under  this  unnatural  treatment.  The  sweet 
juice  from  about  nine  hundred  trees  being  collected  from 
the  earthen  chatties,  is  poured  into  a  copper  still,  and  dis- 
tilled three  times  over  to  obtain  the  strong  and  highly 
intoxicating  spirit  called  arrack,  most  of  which,  however,  is 
obtained  from  the  cocoa-palm,  which  contains  less  sugar. 
Palmyra-toddy  is  considered  by  connoisseurs  to  be  too 
luscious. 

The  work  of  the  toddy-drawer  is  no  sinecure,  for  although 
by  the  aid  of  a  loop  of  flexible  vine  passed  round  his  ankles, 
so  as  to  enable  him  to  grasp  the  trunk  of  the  tree  with  his 
singularly  prehensile  feet,  he  contrives  to  climb  with  monkey- 
like agility,  one  man  can  scarcely  manage  to  ascend  more 
than  twenty  trees  every  morning.  So,  in  order  to  lessen  the 
toil  of  climbing,  and  enable  each  man  to  work  a  hundred  trees 
daily,  half-a-dozen  palm-tops  are  connected  by  ropes,  along 
which  the  drawer  passes  from  tree  to  tree.  Sometimes  a 
second  set  of  ropes,  some  feet  higher,  are  added  for  security, 
but  even   with   these   it  is   a  work  of  danger,   and  many 


158  TRINCOMALEE. 

horrible  accidents  result  from  this  practice,  besides  the  fatali- 
ties recorded. 

In  the  annual  report  of  deaths  from  accident,  a  consider- 
able number  are  shown  to  be  caused  by  falling  from  trees. 
I  have  this  list  for  1879,  1883,  1887,  and  1890,  and  I  see 
the  deaths  under  this  head  are  respectively  255,  250,  326, 
and  369,  and  the  majority  of  victims  were  toddy-drawers, 
who  in  some  cases  lose  their  hold  of  the  slender  coir  rope 
while  collecting  the  sap,  but  more  often  perish  from  its 
breaking  as  they  pass  from  one  high  tree-top  to  another. 
Sometimes  the  ropes  are  rotten,  sometimes  they  are  injured 
by  rats,  and  in  some  cases  there  has  been  reason  to  suspect 
an  enemy  of  half-cutting  the  rope. 

The  men  engaged  in  this  work  are  of  very  low  caste,  and 
in  too  many  cases  their  hardly-earned  wages  return  to  the 
toddy-merchant.  There  are,  however,  some  brilliant  excep- 
tions, such  as  that  village  of  stanch  Christians  whom  we 
visited  near  Batticaloa. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  the  dress  of  these  athletes  is 
reduced  to  a  minimum,  but  in  ascending  the  palmyra-palm 
they  find  it  necessary  to  wear  a  breastplate  of  stout  leather 
as  a  protection  against  the  very  rough  stems.  In  ascending 
the  smooth  cocoa-palm  this  is  not  requisite. 

That  a  tree  so  precious  as  the  palmyra-palm  should  ever 
be  sacrificed  for  timber  seems  unnatural,  but  so  valuable  is 
its  hard  black  wood  in  house-building,  that  an  immense 
trade  is  done  therein,  especially  for  the  siipply  of  rafters,  as 
it  is  found  that  even  white  ants  scarcely  care  to  attack  it. 
But  as  its  value  as  timber  increases  with  its  age  (no  tree 
being  worth  felling  which  has  not  attained  at  least  a 
hundred  years),  each  tree  has  done  a  life-work  of  good 
service  to  man  ere  it  commences  a  second  century  of  use- 


INVALUABLE    PALMS.  159 

fulness  as  an  almost  imperishable  timber.  It  has,  however, 
one  peculiarity,  in  that  it  causes  nails  to  rust  rapidly. 

It  is  somewhat  singular  that  not  only  is  the  female  palm 
so  much  more  generous  than  the  male  in  her  yield  of  sap, 
but  also  her  timber  fetches  a  very  much  higher  price,  as 
being  denser,  harder,  and  darker  in  colour.  It  is  said  that 
in  order  to  increase  these  three  qualities  in  the  male  palm, 
the  natives  immerse  the  newly-felled  timber  in  the  sea,  and 
there  leave  it  to  season.  Unlike  the  ebony  tree,  which 
conceals  its  precious  heart  of  black  wood  within  an  outer 
casing  of  white  wood,  the  palmyra  carries  its  hard  black 
wood  externally,  enfolding  a  heart  of  soft  white  wood — a 
pretty  subject  for  a  tree-parable. 

Great  as  is  the  demand  for  this  timber,  due  care  is,  of 
course,  taken  to  keep  up  the  supply  of  a  tree  so  precious 
that  the  Tamils  recognise  it  as  the  Kalpa  or  "  Tree  of  Life," 
sacred  to  Ganesa,  the  god  of  wisdom ;  and  whereas  the 
Singhalese  talk  of  the  hundi-ed  and  fifty  good  uses  to  which 
the  cocoa-palm  lends  itself,  a  Hindoo  poet  sings  of  the  eight 
hundred  and  one  manners  in  which  the  palmyra  benefits 
mankind ! 

It  is  estimated  that  there  are  on  the  Isle  about  twelve 
million  palms  of  this  species,  and  as  to  the  innumerable 
ways  in  which  they  are  turned  to  account  (besides  those 
to  which  I  have  already  alluded),  I  can  only  advise  you  to 
use  your  imagination,  for  you  will  find  it  difiicult  to  think 
of  any  necessary  of  life  which  native  ingenuity  will  not 
contrive  to  extract  from  this  priceless  tree — anything  from  a 
walking-stick  or  a  thatching-needle,  to  a  bedstead,  a  ladder, 
a  plough,  or  a  water-spout ! 

As  its  stem  yields  timber  for  house-building,  the  leaves 
supply  the  best  possible  thatch,  and  material  for  weaving 


160  TRTNCOMALEE. 

mats  both  foi*  ceiling  and  for  floor ;  baskets  of  all  sorts, 
including  some  which  can  be  used  as  buckets  for  drawing 
water ;  fans,  umbrellas,  coolies*  hats,  ropes,  fly-whisks, 
torches.  Strips  of  these  leaves,  steeped  either  in  boiling 
water  or  in  milk  to  render  them  pliable,  and  then  smoothed 
on  a  heavy  wooden  roller,  form  the  equivalent  of  paper  and 
parchment — olas — only  inferior  to  those  obtained  from  the 
huge  leaf  of  the  taliput-palm. 

As  the  fruit,  root,  and  sap  of  the  tree  supply  food,  palm- 
wine,  sugar,  and  oil  for  the  use  of  man,  the  young  leaves 
serve  as  fodder  for  his  cattle,  and  the  hard  spathe,  wherein 
the  blossom  lay  cradled,  has  often  been  used  to  good  pur- 
pose as  a  baby's  bath. 

The  general  effect  of  a  great  expanse  of  palmyi-as  is 
certainly  dull  and  monotonous,  but  when  seen  near,  nothing 
can  be  more  picturesque  than  a  group  of  these,  especially 
when,  as  is  so  frequently  the  case,  overgrown  by  some 
parasitic  tree.  During  its  prolonged  youth,  the  palmyra 
retains  its  gi'eat  fan-shaped  leaves,  set  spirally  round  the 
stem  like  a  huge  corkscrew.  When,  with  advancing  years, 
these  die  off,  the  solid  leaf-stalk  and  coarse  net-like  fibre 
remain,  giving  the  black  trunk  a  rugged,  untidy  appear- 
ance, but  also  affording  support  to  a  great  variety  of  delicate 
climbing  plants,  and  offering  a  cradle  wherein  many  seeds 
lodge  and  germinate,  especially  those  of  the  banyan,  which 
take  root  so  effectually  that  ere  long  the  parent  stem  is 
completely  enfolded,  often  strangled,  by  the  too  close  em- 
braces of  the  long  white  arms  and  roots  which  twine  around 
it  in  every  direction. 

Such  marriages  of  the  sacred  banyan  and  palm-tree, 
though  by  no  means  uncommon,  are  regarded  by  the 
natives,  whether  Tamil  or  Singhalese,  with  extreme  rever- 


THE    LILY   SHORE.  161 

ence,  and  great  was  the  interest  evinced  by  some  who  found 
me  sketching  a  very  remarkable  grove  on  the  shore  about 
a  couple  of  miles  from  Trincomalee,  where  scores  of 
black  palmjTas  were  each  thus  enfolded  by  white  banyans 
twisting  around  them  like  contorted  snakes.  Sooner  or 
later  the  ungrateful  parasite  strangles  the  protector  of  its 
infancy,  and  is  left  standing  alone,  twisted  into  every  con- 
ceivable fantastic  form. 

In  this  particular  instance  the  scene  was  absolutely  fairy- 
like by  reason  of  the  exquisite  undergrowth  of  tall  white 
lilies,  like  our  lovely  virgin  lily,  but  streaked  with  most 
delicate  pink — truly  a  vision  of  delight.  These  were  grow- 
ing luxuriantly  all  along  the  shore,  which,  moreover,  was 
richly  carpeted  by  the  goat's-foot,  Ipomea,  a  large  lilac 
convolvulus,  whose  glossy  green  foliage,  with  profusion  of 
delicate  blossoms,  mats  the  sands  to  the  very  brink  of  the 
sea,  affording  shelter  to  thousands  of  tiny  crabs.  This 
pretty  plant  flourishes  on  the  seaboard  in  all  parts  of  the 
Isle,  and  constitutes  one  of  the  many  charms  of  the  beach. 

As  to  the  crabs,  they  were  a  constant  source  of  amuse- 
ment, especially  one  odd  little  creature  with  one  claw 
longer  than  all  the  rest  of  its  tiny  body.  It  sidles  along 
at  a  great  pace,  holding  up  this  great  claw  as  if  to  attract 
attention ;  hence  it  is  generally  known  as  the  calling  crab. 
(I  saw  myriads  of  these  crabs  in  Fiji,  but  far  more 
brilliantly  coloured.)^ 

I  only  wish  it  were  possible  for  words  to  convey  any 
impression  of  the  fascination  of  such  a  shore  as  that  of  the 
calm  bay  on  which  we  looked  down  from  the  Government 
Agent's  house — clear  glittering  waters  rippling  on  sands 
strewn   with   pearly   Venus-ear   and    many    another   shell ; 

^  "At  Home  in  Fiji,"  vol.  i.  p.  257,  and  vol.  ii.  p.  2. 
VOL.  II.  L 


162  TRINCOMALEE. 

brown  diilJren  paddling  tiny  canoes  made  of  rudely 
hollowed  logs ;  a  lilac-and-green  carpet  of  the  marine  con- 
volvulus losing  itself  beneath  the  shadow  of  a  grove  of  tall, 
graceful  cocoa-palms  bending  in  every  direction  ;  and  then 
the  rocky  headlands,  so  inviting  for  a  scramble,  with  their 
broken  crags,  rock  pinnacles,  and  at  least  one  great  natural 
archway  offering  cool  shade  beneath  which  to  rest  while 
revelling  in  the  loveliness  of  all  around. 

Just  above  it  stands  the  pleasant  home,  with  its  red-tiled 
roofs  and  pillared  verandah,  overshadowed  by  beautiful  trees 
and  surrounded  by  aloes  and  flowery  shrubs.  Add  to  all 
this  the  vivid  light  and  colour  of  sea  and  sky,  and  surely 
you  can  realise  something  of  the  charm  of  many  a  home 
on  this  sweet  Isle. 


1G3 


CHAPTER  XX. 


TUINCOMALEE     TO     GALLE. 


Trincomalee — A  Tamil  play — A  hirainous  sea — Batticaloa — Flying- 
fish — Galle — Buona  Vista — A  kabragoya — Green  corals — Uses  of 
the  cocoa-palm. 

I  HAVE  seen  some  curious  specimens  of  plays  and  theatres 
in  many  lands,  but  none  more  singular  than  an  evening 
open-air  performance  at  Trincomalee  by  a  company  of  Tamil 
actors.  The  ground  formed  a  grassy  amphitheatre  gently 
sloping  down  to  the  centre,  where  a  large  circular  stage  was 
erected,  and  protected  from  possible  rain  by  a  canopy  of 
matting.  The  spectators  were  closely  seated  in  circles  all 
around,  those  at  the  back  being  sufficiently  raised  to  com- 
mand an  excellent  view  of  the  stage,  which  was  divided 
into  six  imaginary  sections,  the  players  actually  performing 
each  short  scene  six  times  over,  facing  each  section  of 
the  audience  by  turns.  Wearisome  as  such  a  performance 
would  prove  if  seen  too  often,  it  was  certainly  interesting 
for  once,  and  the  native  spectators  were  evidently  delighted, 
and  waited  with  exemplary  patience  while  each  scene  went 
the  round  of  the  other  five  sides. 

A  few  of  the  actors  were  very  handsomely  dressed,  to 
represent  ancient  Tamil  kings  and  queens,  and  loaded  with 
gorgeous  je\yellery  of  real  old  patterns.     Some  wore  large 


164  TRINCOMALEE   TO    GALLE. 

richly  jewelled  animals  placed  on  each  shoulder  or  on  the 
head,  the  front  of  the  stage  being  dimly  lighted  by  rude 
lamps  fed  with  cocoa-nut  oil,  and  stuck  on  plantain  stems 
about  five  feet  high.  These  details  would  have  been  invisible 
had  not  each  of  the  principal  actors  been  escorted  by  a 
coolie  in  the  ordinary  undress,  whose  duty  it  was  to  carry  a 
small  earthenware  lamp  fastened  to  the  end  of  a  stick,  and 
this  he  thrust  right  in  the  face  of  his  master  that  all  might 
be  able  to  see  him  and  his  finery. 

A  number  of  other  coolies  in  the  lightest  of  raiment  stood 
about  on  the  stage  to  help  in  various  ways,  and  as  the 
orchestra  (which  consisted  of  a  chorus  of  discordant  voices 
and  musicians  beating  tomtoms  and  other  drums,  blowing 
shells  and  shrill  pipes)  was  also  on  the  stage,  and  all 
moved  round  together,  the  effect  was  most  confusing,  and 
the  richly  dressed  actors  were  almost  hidden  by  the  scantily 
draped  subordinates. 

It  is  difficult  to  realise  that  it  is  not  so  very  long  since 
our  own  drama  was  even  more  primitive  than  this,  and  yet 
our  kings  and  their  courtiers  could  sit  out  a  "  morality  "  or 
a  "  mystery  "  continuing  for  nine  or  ten  hours. ^ 

Happily  for  the  success  of  this  open-air  entertainment, 
the  weather  proved  perfect,  which  was  more  than  we  could 
count  upon,  for  (it  was  now  the  end  of  September)  heavy 

1  On  sucli  occasions  the  stage  Avas  a  rusb-strewn  scaifolding,  witli  a 
light  cloth  canopy,  and  that  scenic  effects  were  not  costly  may  be  inferred 
from  such  entries  in  the  accounts  of  the  play-giving  guilds  as  the  fol- 
lowing : — "  Paid  for  mending  of  Hell,  2d.  For  keeping  fire  at  ditto,  4d. 
For  setting  tbe  world  on  fire,  5d.  To  Crowe  for  making  three  worlds, 
3s."    The  chief  actors  received  3s.  4d.  each,  but  tbe  prima  donna  only  2s. 

It  is  curious  to  learn  that,  as  in  Cliina  at  the  present  day,  so  in  Britain 
prior  to  a.d.  1661,  no  women  might  appear  on  tbe  stage,  so  that  for  at 
least  balf-a-century  all  Shakspeare's  daintiest  dames  were  impersonated 
by  youths  ! 


FAREWELLS.  165 

tropical  thunderstorms  were  pretty  frequent,  and  were  cer- 
tainly no  joke.  Sometimes  they  came  on  very  suddenly. 
Dark  clouds  gathered  with  surprising  rapidity,  and  then  the 
blinding  glare  of  vivid  lightning  and  the  crashing  thunder- 
peals  were  succeeded  l)y  such  a  pitiless  deluge  as  defied  the 
stoutest  waterproofs.  Such  storms,  however,  passed  away 
as  quickly  as  they  arose,  and  seemed  only  to  add  fresh 
charm  to  the  fragrant  stillness  of  the  night,  illuminated  by 
a  thousand  points  of  glittering  pale-green  light,  as  the  light- 
giving  beetles  which  we  call  tire-flies  flashed  to  and  fro,  and 
the  whole  air  was  perfumed  with  the  fragrance  of  orange, 
lime,  and  shaddock  blossoms. 

But  the  chance  of  such  soakiiigs  and  the  amount  of 
"roughing"  which  is  inevitable  in  jungle  travel  form  a 
grave  risk  for  any  one  not  endowed  with  very  robust  health, 
and  even  before  we  reached  Trincomalee  it  was  evident  that 
the  Bishop  would  be  compelled  to  abandon  his  northward 
journey  to  Jaffna,  in  the  extreme  north  of  the  Isle.  "When, 
therefore,  at  the  end  of  an  anxious  month  of  severe  ill- 
ness, the  kindest  and  most  careful  of  doctors  (Dr.  Goodwin) 
was  able  to  sanction  his  leaving  Trincomalee,  it  was  clear 
that  he  must  return  to  Colombo  by  the  easiest  route,  namely, 
by  the  Government  steamship  Serendib^  which  had  only  to 
call  at  Batticaloa  and  Galle.  So,  after  a  regretful  parting 
with  many  friends  wiiose  kindness  at  such  a  time  can  never 
be  forgotten,  we  embarked  one  evening  at  sunset,  and  some 
hours  later  sailed  out  of  the  beautiful  harliour  in  the  clear 
starlight. 

The  sea  there  is  intensely  phosphorescent,  and  it  seemed 
that  night  as  though  the  sea-gods  were  holding  high  revel, 

'  One  of  the  many  names  by  which   Ceylon  was  known  to  the  ancients 
and  to  the  writers  of  "  The  Arabian  Nights." 


IGG  TRINCOMALEE    TO    GALLE. 

and  we  poor  mortals  strained  our  eyes  in  the  effort  to 
peer  down  through  the  waves,  which  were  all  aglow  with 
marine  fireworks  and  illuminations.  I  never  saw  anything 
more  lovely.  The  sky  was  very  dark,  with  stormy  clouds 
scudding  before  a  pretty  stiff  breeze,  but  the  sea  was  all 
full  of  dancing,  glittering,  points  of  pale  white  fire,  with 
here  and  there  large  dazzling  stars,  which  gleamed  suddenly, 
then  faded  away  into  darkness,  like  the  intermittent  flash 
from  some  beacon-light.  Wave  beyond  wave,  right  away 
to  the  horizon,  was  plainly  defined  in  pallid  light,  here 
and  there  crested  with  brighter  fire,  where  the  breeze  had 
caught  the  curving  billow  and  tossed  it  back  in  glittering 
spray. 

As  we  looked  down  through  the  waters  and  watched  the 
myriad  points  of  light  rushing  upwards,  some  one  suggested 
a  comparison  to  champagne  or  some  such  effervescing 
drink  alive  with  air-bubbles.  But  these  luminous  globules 
frequently  start  on  independent  careers,  and  dash  to  right 
or  left,  according  to  some  impulse  of  their  own  devising. 

Often  as  I  have  watched  the  phosphoric  wonders  of  our 
dark  Northern  seas  (when,  sailing  through  a  shoal  of  herring, 
each  separate  fish  has  seemed  a  thing  of  living  light),  I 
had  never  seen  the  light  so  widespread  as  here.  It  seemed 
as  if  the  sea-gods  had  issued  large  supplies  of  phosphorus 
for  the  occasion,  for  creatures  which  on  other  nights  are 
quite  invisible  to-night  shone,  probably  with  borrowed 
lustre.  Large  families  of  flying-fish  darted  from  the  water 
as  we  passed,  suggesting  flights  of  luminous  birds,  and  here 
and  there  a  school  of  great,  heavy  porpoises  rushed  by, 
leaving  a  trail  of  living  fire ;  and  thousands  of  delicate 
little  jelly-fish  floated  peacefully  along,  like  inverted  cups 
fringed  with  fire — most  lovely,  fairy-like  creatures. 


A    PHOSPHORESCENT    SEA.  167 

On  a  night  like  this  I  always,  if  possible,  take  up  a 
position  either  at  the  bow  or  stern  of  the  ship.  From  the 
former  you  look  sheer  down,  as  from  the  edge  of  a  precipice, 
and  watch  the  dividing  of  the  waters  as  the  vessel  cuts  her 
way  through  the  waves,  and  the  startled  creatures  of  all 
sorts  awaken,  but  in  their  hurried  flight  they  quickly  light 
their  lamps,  and  the  white  spray  that  is  thrown  off  from 
the  bows,  in  a  ceaseless  fountain,  glitters  like  a  shower 
of  radiant  stars.  It  always  reminds  me  of  the  Ancient 
Mariner's  lonely  watch,  when  from  his  eerie  ship 

"The  elfish  light  fell  oil'  in  lioaiy  flakes  !  " 

Coleridge  must  assuredly  have  watched  on  such  nights  as 
these. 

Then,  if  you  make  a  pilgrimage  to  the  stern,  and  can 
endure  to  stand  just  above  the  thrubbing,  thumping  screw, 
you  see  the  most  wonderful  sight  of  all.  For  the  great 
propeller  literally  churns  the  waters  far,  far  below  the 
surface ;  and  each  stroke  produces  a  body  of  clear  green 
and  blue  light,  which  rolls  upwards  in  a  soft  brilliancy 
quite  indescribable — like  dissolved  opals.  As  each  succes- 
sive globe  of  this  fairy-like  green  fire  rises  to  the  surface,  it 
breaks  in  bubbling,  hissing  spray,  and  spreads  itself  over 
the  surface,  leaving  a  pathway  of  fire,  which  remains  visible 
for  a  long  time  after  the  vessel  has  passed,  fading  away  in 
the  distance,  like  a  reflection  of  the  INIilky  Way,  that  spans 
the  dark  sky  above  it. 

Some  of  my  far-travelled  companions,  who  had  sailed  in 
many  seas,  were  talking  one  evening  of  the  various  forms 
in  which  this  beautiful  phenomenon  appears.  One  of  the 
officers  had  the  good  luck  to  see  what  is  known  as  "  white 
water "   as  he    crossed   the   Arabian   Sea.      It  was  a  dark 


168  TRINCOMALEE    TO    OALLE. 

moonless  night  in  summer,  only  tlie  stars  were  reflected 
on  the  calm  waters,  when  suddenly  a  soft,  silvery  light 
overspread  the  ocean — a  tremulous,  shimmering  light;  the 
waters  lay  smooth  as  a  mirror.  lie  drew  up  a  bucket- 
ful of  this  gleaming  water,  and  found  it  was  clouded, 
as  if  tinged  with  milk,  and  luminous  with  phosphorus. 
When  he  emptied  the  bucket  it  continued  to  glow  for 
some  time. 

Another  officer  said  he  too  had  seen  a  milk-like  sea,  in 
about  the  same  part  of  the  ocean,  but  when  some  of  the  men 
on  board  drew  up  water  for  examination  it  was  perfectly  clear, 
and  they  concluded  that  the  curious  appearance  of  the  sea 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  they  were  passing  through  a  soft 
hazy  mist,  and  though  the  night  was  so  dark  that  they  were 
scarcely  conscious  of  its  influence,  they  supposed  that  it  in 
some  way  refracted  the  starlight  on  to  the  surface  of  the 
waters,  and  to  this  they  attributed  the  quivering  of  the 
pallid  light — tremulous  as  a  mirage/ 

If  this  was  really  the  cause  of  the  light,  it  must  have 
been  due  to  some  very  strange  condition  of  the  atmosphere, 
as  even  in  the  tropics  such  a  phenomenon  is  very  rarely 
seen,  and  we  cannot  say  as  much  for  mists  ! 

I  am  told  that  a  similar  appearance  has  occasionally 
been  observed  in  the  North  Sea,  and  even  on  the  Xorthum- 
brian  coast ;  and  the  fishers  have  noted  that  its  presence 
indicated  a  very  poor  herring  season,  and  that  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  sea  was  unusually  high  during  its  duration.  It 
proved  to  be  a  very  tangible  form  of  whiteness,  for  when 

^  I  have  myself  witnessed  just  such  an  effect  of  dazzling  light, 
illuminating  the  whole  surface  of  the  water,  during  two  midnight 
storms  in  New  Zealand.  Vide  "At  Home  in  Fiji,"  vol.  ii. 
p   169. 


ON    BATTICALOA    LAKE.  169 

tliey  drew  up  their  nets  they  found  them  coated  with  a 
substance  resembling  lime.^ 

We  reached  Batticaloa  about  noon  on  the  following  day, 
and  were  once  more  cordially  welcomed  to  the  same  pleasant 
quarters  which  had  been  assigned  to  us  on  our  previous 
visit. 

On  the  following  morning,  Captain  Varian  having  most 
kindly  undertaken  to  show  me  some  of  my  brother's  cocoa- 
nut  estates,  we  started  before  dawn  in  one  of  the  Serendib 
boats,  towed  by  the  steam-launch  a  long  way  ahead  of  us 
— a  delightful  mode  of  travel,  securing  perfectly  smooth, 
gliding  motion.  The  morning  was  exquisite,  and  all  the 
ranges  of  blue,  distant  hills  and  wooded  headlands  were 
faultlessly  mirrored  in  the  calm  sea-lake. 

About  eighteen  miles  from  Batticaloa  we  landed  at  the 
first  estate,  then  proceeded  to  another,  and  ploughed  our  way 
through  an  apparently  interminable  grove  of  cocoa-palms  all 
planted  in  straight  lines,  at  regular  intervals,  in  deep,  hot  sand 
— endless  rows  of  tall  palms,  all  of  much  the  same  height, 
extending  for  miles  and  miles  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see, 
and  much  farther,  all  growing  out  of  the  arid  sand — very 
different  from  lovely  half-wild  groves  where  trees  of  all 
ages  grow  at  their  own  will  from  a  cool,  deep  carpet  of  the 
greenest  guinea-grass  l^y  the  brink  of  some  cool  lake ;  the 
young  ones  like  huge  clumps  of  great  ferns  growing  cup- 
wise,  others  in  every  stage  of  growth,  the  middle-aged  ones 
strongly  resembling  tree-ferns  with  fronds  fully  twenty  feet 
in  lenqth.      It   would  be  difficult  to  imagine  richer  vejre- 

^  The  fisher-folk  of  Shields  and  Tyneniouth,  and  tlie  villages  iiu- 
niediately  to  the  norih,  noticed  this  peculiar  condition  of  the  water  in 
the  summer  of  1878,  which  proved  an  exceptionally  bad  year  for  the 
herrin<'-fisheis. 


170  TRINCOMALEE    TO    GAIJ.K. 

tatiou  tliau  tliat,  but  these  orderly  plantations  are  quite 
another  thing. 

It  was  very  fatiguing  even  to  walk  once  along  that  sand- 
track,  and  I  realised  as  I  had  never  done  before  what  must 
have  been  the  sinking  loneliness  of  the  brave  young  heart, 
exiled  from  one  of  the  cheeriest  and  most  beautiful  homes 
in  Scotland,  to  settle  quite  alone  on  these  desolate  sand- 
banks, and  commence  the  toil  of  planting  them  with  the 
nuts  about  which  so  little  was  then  known  that  speedy 
remuneration  was  expected,  whereas  the  experience  of  the 
next  fifteen  years  was  one  of  continual  outlay,  ceaseless 
watchfulness  to  defend  the  young  plantations  from  the 
ravages  of  most  mischievous  boring  beetles,^  rats,  white 
ants,  herds  of  wild  hogs,  porcupines,  troops  of  elephants, 
and  other  foes,  and  no  remuneration  whatever. 

Then,  when  the  day  of  his  emancipation  came,  the  estates 
passed  to  other  hands,  and  strangers  now  reap  the  abundant 
fruits  of  his  long  years  of  weary  toil. 

Planters  of  the  present  day,  profiting  by  the  experience 
of  their  predecessors,  find  that  by  a  liberal  application  of 
oil-cake,  ashes,  sea-weed,  salt  mud,  and  various  other  manures 
they  can  induce  young  palms  to  commence  flowering  about 
the  seventh  year  (some  which  have  been  fed  as  carefully  and 
liberally  as  prize  oxen  have  actually  flowered  in  the  fourth 
year),  and,  moreover,  that  the  trees  thus  nourished  will  bear 
at  least  twice  as  many  nuts,  but  the  work  at  the  time  to 
which  I  refer  was  in  a  great  measure  experimental. 

Even  now  cocoa-nut  planting  is  a  very  uncertain  venture, 
for  not  only  do  many  estates  wait  twenty  years  ere  yielding 
a  full  return  (though  probably  about  half  the  trees  com- 
mence bearing  in  the  fourteenth  year),  but  the  crop  is  also 

^  Oryctes  rhinoceros. 


ON    A    COCOA-PALM    PLANTATION.  171 

very  variable,  some  estates  yielding  only  one  candy  of  copra 
to  the  acre,  while  others  yield  three. 

The  fact  is,  that  there  are  in  Ceylon  a  vast  number  of 
nameless  varieties  of  cocoa-palms,  and  unless  almost  im- 
possible care  is  observed  in  the  selection  of  nuts  for  plant- 
ing, the  crops  will  always  be  variable.  An  experienced 
planter  says  :  "  One  tree  begins  to  liower  in  its  fifth  year  on 
four  feet  of  stem  ;  its  nearest  neighbour,  equally  vigorous, 
runs  up  to  fifteen  or  even  twenty  feet,  and  only  begins  to 
flower  in  the  tenth  year.  One  will  have  fertile  germs  on 
its  first  flower,  and  its  neighbour  will  only  produce  barren 
flowers  for  twelve  months.  One  will,  within  a  year  of 
opening  its  first  flower,  fall  into  a  regular  yield  of  a  hun- 
dred nuts  per  annum  of  medium  size,  while  another  close 
by  carries  from  thirty  to  forty  very  large  ones,  and  tlie  next 
in  the  same  line  carries  above  two  hundred  very  small  ones." 

Besides  these  differences  in  the  nuts  themselves,  varieties 
of  soil  are  responsible  for  many  disappointments,  some 
planters  having  wasted  much  energy  on  swampy  or  clayey 
soils,  only  to  find  that  after  ten  or  twelve  years  the  palms 
gave  no  promise  of  fruit,  while  sandy  soil,  moist  but  not  too 
wet,  is  the  most  favourable. 

In  Ceylon  the  cocoa-nuts  are  gathered  six  times  a  year, 
and  when  liberally  manured  and  carefully  tended  should 
continue  in  bearing  for  upwards  of  a  century. 

Wo  trudged  through  deep  sand  till  we  reached  the  small 
bungalow  of  the  present  owner,  who  gave  us  refreshing 
cocoa-nuts  to  drink,  and  lent  us  the  cart,  drawn  by  an 
elephant,  which  daily  collects  the  fallen  nuts ;  but  I  cannot 
say  we  found  it  pleasant,  as  the  elephant  had  a  faculty 
for  bolting  first  on  one  side,  then  on  the  other,  against  the 
palms,  thereby  keeping  us  constantly  on  the  jerk ;  so  we 


172  TRINCOMALEE   TO    GALLE. 

very  shortly  agreed  that  even  the  fatigue  of  walking  was 
preferable,  and  accordingly  descended  from  our  uncomfortable 
quarters,  and  trudged  through  the  hot  sand  till  we  reached 
the  site  of  my  brother's  original  house,  now  marked  only 
by  the  fruit-trees  which  he  planted  round  it. 

We  returned  to  Batticaloa  at  sunset,  and  in  the  peaceful 
moonlight  I  stood  by  the  grassy  grave  in  the  little  "  God's 
acre,"  with  an  intensified  sympathy  for  many  of  "  our  boys  " 
leaving  the  happy  home-nest  to  carve  their  fortunes  in 
distant  lands. 

Amongst  minor  details  in  a  day  of  so  great  interest,  I 
may  mention  the  multitude  of  fresh-water  snail-shells  which 
we  found  on  the  banks  of  a  small  tank,  and  also  the  pleasure 
of  finding  a  number  of  turtle's  eggs,  each  containing  a  perfect 
miniature  turtle  quite  ready  to  be  hatched — the  neatest  tiny 
creatures. 

On  the  following  evening  we  took  leave  of  our  many 
kind  friends,  and  returned  on  board  the  Serendih,  which 
was  lying  outside  the  harbour-bar,  and  fully  did  we  realise 
the  sudden  change  from  the  dead  calm  of  the  sea-lake  thus 
guarded  to  the  tossing  ocean  beyond. 

This  bar  is  often  the  occasion  of  very  grave  inconvenience 
to  the  inhabitants  of  Batticaloa,  for  when  a  strong  sea- 
breeze  is  blowing  the  waves  dash  upon  it  so  tumultuously 
that  no  boat  dare  face  those  raging  breakers.  In  this 
comparatively  tideless  sea,  high  or  low  tide  afford  very 
slight  variation  in  the  depth  of  water  on  the  bar,  which 
in  the  spring  months  is  sometimes  barely  three  and  a 
half  feet.  Moreover,  owing  to  the  usual  deposit  of 
silt,  the  mouth  of  the  river  is  growing  daily  narrower, 
notwithstanding  the  strong  current  which  sweeps  the 
shore. 


THE   HARBOUR-BAR.  173 

Happily,  the  singular  regularity  in  the  variation  of  the 
direction  of  the  wind  affords  some  security,  as  the  boatmen 
well  know  that  the  sea-breeze  will  attain  its  height  shortly 
before  noon,  when  the  bar  will  probably  be  impassable. 
But  at  night  the  land-breeze  sets  in  and  quiets  the  tumult, 
so  that  by  morning  there  is  comparative  calm,  and  from 
dawn  till  about  9  a.m.  the  bar  can.  generally  be  crossed 
in  safety.  But,  of  course,  it  is  not  always  that  a  steamer 
can  lie  in  the  open  roadstead  to  await  these  possibilities, 
and  so  it  occasionally  happens  that  passengers  and  cargo 
cannot  get  on  board,  while  other  passengers  and  goods 
cannot  be  put  ashore.  At  other  times  the  transit  is  effected 
at  the  cost  of  an  hour's  hard  rowing  and  a  general  soaking. 

Happily  for  us,  at  the  end  of  October,  we  had  no  such 
unpleasant  experience,  wind  and  waves  combining  to  speed 
us  on  our  way. 

All  the  next  day  was  taken  up  in  beating  about  in 
search  of  a  reported  rock,  which  we  failed  to  find ;  but 
to  a  sketcher  "  all  is  fish  that  comes  to  the  net,"  and  I 
was  thus  enabled  to  secure  sundry  reminiscences  of  the 
coast  as  seen  from  the  sea  or  the  inland  mountain 
ranges. 

Speaking  of  fish,  I  never  remember  seeing  so  many 
flying-fish  as  on  that  voyage.  They  rose  from  the  waves, 
at  our  approach,  like  flashes  of  silvery  spray,  and  fiew 
perhaps  two  hundred  yards,  just  skimming  the  surface  of 
the  water — then  again,  just  touching  the  wave  to  moisten 
their  transparent  wings.  They  looked  so  like  flights  of 
darting  birds  that  I  can  well  understand  the  ancients 
describing  them  as  "  sea-swallows." 

It  seems  barbarous  to  think  of  these  graceful  little 
creatures  from  a  gastronomic  point  of  view,  but  certainly 


174  TRINCOMALEE    TO    GALLE. 

they  are  the  very  daintiest  fish-morsels  that  ever  rejoiced 
an  epicure.  (In  the  West  Indies  they  are  so  highly  prized 
that  a  special  method  of  capturing  them  has  been  devised. 
The  fishers  go  out  at  nights  in  their  canoes,  carrying  blazing 
torches,  to  allure  these  inquisitive  "  sea-moths,"  who  come 
flying  to  the  light,  and  are  captured  in  small  nets  fastened 
on  to  poles,  like  our  landing-nets). 

I  saved  some  of  their  wings  (I  suppose  I  ought  correctly 
to  say  "  pectoral  fins "),  w^hich  are  formed  of  a  tissue  of 
curious  gauze-like  membrane,  stretched  on  a  folding  frame- 
work, and  must,  I  think,  have  inspired  Chinamen  and  other 
early  sailors  with  the  original  design  for  folding  sails  of 
matting  on  movable  bamboos. 

We  reached  Galle  on  the  following  afternoon,  and  found 
it  beautiful  as  ever,  but  the  masts  of  yet  one  more  newly 
sunken  steamer  rose  from  the  waters  of  its  lovely,  treacherous 
harbour,  wherein  so  many  fine  ships  have  met  their  doom. 

Archdeacon  Schrader  "  the  Good  "  came  to  welcome  the 
Bishop,  and  to  fetch  us  all  to  his  hospitable  roof,  and  to 
service  at  the  beautiful  church.  All  Saints',  which  owes 
its  existence  to  his  energy.  It  is  by  far  the  finest  in  the 
island,  and  one  whose  constant  and  hearty  services  have 
come  as  a  breath  of  home  to  many  a  wanderer  from  far- 
distant  lands,  pausing  here  on  his  voyage. 

On  the  following  day  the  Archdeacon  drove  us  to  see 
the  large  Orphanage  at  Buona  Vista,  which  crowns  the 
summit  of  the  steep  headland  which  forms  the  southern 
arm  of  the  harbour,  and  commands  a  lovely  view  of  Galle. 
We  were  most  kindly  received  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marks,^ 
who  showed  us  their  troop  of  very  nice-looking  boys  and 
girls.  This  is  a  mission- station  of  the  S.P.G.  Society, 
^  The  Orphanage  is  now  under  the  care  of  Miss  Callender. 


BUONA   VISTA   AND   EICHMOND.  175 

and  supplies  Christian  teachers,  both  male  and  female,  for 
the  surrounding  village  schools.  We  were  told  that,  of  the 
children  who  attend  these  village  schools,  about  one-sixth 
are  Christians,  and  it  is  found  that,  even  among  those  who 
at  the  time  appear  quite  uninfluenced  by  Christian  teaching, 
a  considerable  number  receive  impressions,  which,  at  a 
later  period,  develop  into  active  principles. 

Strange  to  say,  the  heathen  parents,  though  perfectly 
aware  of  the  heart's  desire  of  the  teachers,  make  no  objec- 
tion whatever  to  their  children  being  carefully  instructed 
in  all  Christian  knowledge  until  the  day  comes  when  the 
young  student,  being  fully  of  age  to  make  his  own  decision, 
desires  to  be  baptized.  Then  every  possible  means  is 
adopted  to  counteract  his  newly  awakened  faith.  Buddhist 
priests  are  called  in  to  reason  with  him  ;  expulsion  from 
home  and  disinheritance  are  all  threatened,  but  rarely 
overcome  the  resolution  once  formed,  and  eventually  the 
relations,  finding  they  cannot  shake  the  faith  of  the  young 
convert,  abstain  from  active  persecution. 

On  another  hill,  bearing  the  very  British  name  of  Eich- 
mond,  and  also  commanding  a  lovely  view,  stands  the 
Wesleyan  Mission  and  its  schools.  It  is  in  connection 
with  a  large  chapel  in  the  town,  at  which  services  are 
alternately  held  in  English,  Portuguese,  and  Singhalese, 

Greater  interest  in  point  of  antiquity  attaches  to  the 
fine  old  cruciform  Dutch  church,  which  is  paved  with 
tombstones  of  bygone  generations,  whose  monuments  also 
crowd  the  walls.  Here  services  according  to  the  form  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Holland  are  held  in  English, 
recalling  the  autocratic  manner  in  which  the  Dutch  con- 
querors strove  to  "  convert  "  the  islanders  by  the  aid  of  inter- 
preters, utterly  refusing  themselves  to  learn  their  language. 


176  TRINCOMALEE   TO    GALLE. 

About  ten  miles  inland  from  Galle  lies  Baddegama,  a 
lovely  spot  on  the  Gindura  river,  where,  in  1818,  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  commenced  England's  first 
efifort  on  behalf  of  her  newly  annexed  colony.  A  very 
satisfactory  feature  of  this  station  is  the  boarding-school 
for  Singhalese  girls,  which  has  provided  many  well-taught 
Christian  wives  for  the  young  men  trained  in  Christian 
colleges.  Some  years  ago  the  fine  old  church  tower  was 
struck  by  lightning,  as  was  also  the  verandah  of  the  mission- 
house,  and  the  missionary  in  charge,  Mr.  Balding,  narrowly 
escaped  being  killed,  an  incident  of  which  he  and  his 
parishioners  are  perpetually  reminded  by  the  sound  of  a 
cracked  bell,  said  to  have  previously  been  well  toned. 

Another  point  of  interest  near  Baddegama  is  the  oldest 
sugar-cane  estate  in  the  Isle,  a  cultivation  which  has  not 
been  largely  taken  up  in  Ceylon. 

On  our  homeward  way,  as  we  drove  through  a  cool  shady 
glade,  the  horses  started  as  a  gigantic  lizard,  or  rather 
iguana,  of  a  greenish-grey  colour,  with  yellow  stripes  and 
spots,  called  by  the  natives  kabragoya,^  awoke  from  its 
midday  sleep,  and  slowly,  with  the  greatest  deliberation, 
walked  right  across  the  road  just  in  front  of  us.  It  is  a 
notoriously  slothful  reptile,  and  on  this  occasion  fully 
sustained  its  reputation,  for  it  did  not  hurry  itself  in  the 
smallest  degree ;  so  we  had  to  wait  its  time,  and  had  full 
leisure  to  observe  the  lazy  movements  of  this  strange 
creature,  which  was  fully  seven  feet  in  length,  with  a 
general  resemblance  to  a  crocodile. 

Like  that  very  unattractive  monster,  the  kabragoya  is 
amphibious,  and  when  in  danger  tries  to  make  for  the 
water.     It  is  quite  harmless,  however,  except  in  the  matter 

^  Hydro  saitrus  salvator. 


THE    KABPvAGOYA.  177 

of  eating  fowls,  and  is  eminently  peaceful  in  its  disposition, 
unless  roused  at  close  quarters,  when,  in  self-defence,  it 
can  turn  on  a  foe  and  administer  a  tremendous  blow  with 
its  armour-plated  tail,  which,  being  provided  with  a  sharp 
crest,  can  inflict  a  very  serious  wound  on  the  licjhtly  draped 
natives.  Occasionally  a  rash  aggressor  receives  a  broken 
arm  or  leg,  as  a  warning  against  molesting  harmless 
fellow- creatures ;  consequently  the  Singhalese  treat  these 
huge  lizards  with  considerable  respect.  The  all-destroying 
foreigner  occasionally  shoots  one,  and  notes  its  strange 
tenacity  of  life,  the  head  being  apparently  the  only 
vulnerable,  or  at  any  rate  the  only  vital,  spot.  I  be- 
lieve, however,  that  the  Veddahs  are  the  only  people 
who  have  sufficient  strength  of  mind  to  eat  the  ugly 
monster. 

I  had  not  been  in  Galle  since  the  memorable  occasion 
when  i  first  landed  there  on  my  way  to  India,  and  received 
my  never-to-be-forgotten  very  first  impressions  of  palm- 
trees  and  the  tropics — first  impressions  of  perfect  novelty 
and  fairy-like  enchantment — so  of  course  I  longed  to  return 
to  Wakwalla,  to  which  we  accordingly  drove  in  the  evening. 
But,  alas !  as  with  all  else  in  this  world,  familiarity  does 
wear  off  the  keen  sense  of  delight  even  in  palm-trees,  and 
exquisite  as  such  a  drive  through  mazes  of  tropical  foliage 
must  ever  be,  I  felt  on  this  second  visit  to  Wakwalla  that 
my  own  appreciation  of  its  loveliness  was  somewhat  dulled 
by  the  many  visions  of  tropical  beauty  on  which  my  eyes 
had  feasted  since  I  had  first  beheld  it. 

Nevertheless,  it  was  with  great  pleasure  that  I  accepted 
invitations  from  several  kind  friends  in  Galle  and  its 
neighbourhood,  with  the  prospect  of  returning  to  Colombo 
by  the  lovely  road  along  the  sea-coast — a  drive  of  seventy 

VOL.  II.  M 


178  TRINCOMALEE   TO    GALLE. 

miles  all  shadowed  by  the  graceful  palms  which  droop 
riglit  over  the  sea. 

So  the  Serendib  sailed  minus  one  passenger,  and  I  made 
my  way  to  the  farthest  point  of  the  ramparts  to  watch  her 
safe  out  of  the  ill-fated  harbour  with  her  precious  freight 
of  truest  friends.  Afterwards  I  ascended  the  lighthouse, 
and  thence  looked  down  on  the  coral-reefs  clearly  visible 
through  the  shallow,  lustrous,  emerald-green  water-reefs 
which  come  too  near  the  surface  for  the  safety  of  the 
harbour,  as  many  a  good  ship  has  proved  to  her  cost.-^ 

But  beautiful  as  is  such  a  bird's-eye-view  of  the  reef 
(which,  when  lighted  by  the  rays  of  the  noonday,  sun, 
gleams  like  a  lost  rainbow,  held  captive  by  water-sprites) 
its  treasures  of  delight  are  only  to  be  fully  appreciated  by 
floating  over  it  at  low  tide,  in  a  boat  drawing  only  a  few 
inches  of  water,  and  regardless  of  paint  (for  the  sharp 
cutting  points  of  the  coral  are  fatal  to  a  trig  ornamental 
boat).  Only  thus  is  it  possible  to  realise  the  loveliness  of 
these  submarine  gardens,  where  coral-trees,  coral-shrubs, 
and  coral-flowers  of  every  hue,  violet  and  rose,  red  and 
brown,  gold  and  lemon  colour,  are  the  homes  and  play- 
grounds of  all  manner  of  strange,  beautiful  fishes,  crabs, 
sea-snakes,  star-fish,  sea-urchins,  and  innumerable  other 
creatures,  of  every  conceivable  shape  and  size  and  colour. 

Naturalists,  however,  note  with  interest  the  remarkable 
predominance  of  green  in  the  colouring  of  many  of  these 
creatures,  as  though  by  assimilation  to  the  prevailing 
verdure  of  the  Isle.  They  find  green  water-snakes  and 
green    fishes,   Crustacea    and   star-fish,    sea-anemones    and 

*  I  am  told  that  no  less  than  twelve  steamers  have  been  wrecked  in  Galle 
Harbour,  i.e.,  more  than  one-third  of  the  total  number  of  thirty-four  which 
have  been  lost  on  the  shores  of  Ceylon. 


PREVALENCE  OF  GREEN  MARINE  CREATURES.   179 

sea-urchins,  sea-slugs  and  several  shells  of  various  shades 
of  olive  or  emerald  greens,  while  a  considerable  number  of 
corals  are  verdant  as  the  plants  they  so  closely  resemble.^ 

All  too  fleetly  the  pleasant  days  slipped  by  with  drives 
and  boating  expeditions  to  many  a  lovely  scene,  and 
temptations  for  an  artist  on  every  hand.  After  one  long 
morning  in  search  of  the  best  point  for  a  panoramic  sketch 
of  Galle,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  very  finest  view 
of  the  town  and  harbour  was  that  from  the  verandah  of 
Closenberg,  a  delightful  bungalow,  where  we  landed  at 
some  risk,  as  the  surf  was  running  high  and  dashing  in 
cataracts  of  spray  against  the  black  rocks.  However, 
skilful  steering  ran  our  boat  in  safety  between  the  biggest 
breakers,  and  I  was  soon  most  cosily  ensconced  for  my  day's 
work. 

Looking  along  the  lovely  palm-fringed  shore,  I  could  not 
but  think  that  if  man  does  "  mark  the  earth  with  ruin " 
in  some  places,  as  in  the  central  districts  of  this  Isle,  and 
wherever  primeval  forests  are  cleared  by  planters  beginning 
work,  we  often  forget  how  deeply  we  are  indebted  to 
those  of  past  generations  for  much  of  what  we  accept  as 
natural  beauty.  As  in  New  Zealand,  Taheiti,  and  other 
isles,  where  imported  vegetation  is  even  more  luxuriant 
than  that  which  was  indigenous,  so  here  the  improving 
hand  of  the  foreigner  has  not  been  confined  to  acclimatising 
the  beautiful  flowering  shrubs  which  adorn  the  gardens, 
but  even  the  multiplication  of  the  palms,  which  now  seem 
so  natural  a  feature  of  Ceylon,  was  really  greatly  due  to 
the  commercial  instincts  of  the  Dutch,  who,  finding  that 
about  nine-tenths  of  the  west  coast,  from  Galle  right  up  to 

^  Such  are  the    Montipora,  Madrepora,  Millepora,  Macandrina,  Astrsea, 
Alcyonia,  Anthophylla,  Heteropora. 


180  TRINCOMALEE    TO    GALLE. 

Calpentyn  (the  whole  of  which  is  now  one  succession  of 
hixuriant  cocoa-groves),  was  then  waste  uncultivated  land, 
offered  Government  grants  thereof  to  all  persons  who  would 
undertake  to  plant  cocoa-palms,  and  thereon  pay  a  cer- 
tain tax. 

It  would  appear  that  strong  pressure  must  have  been 
brought  to  bear  to  awaken  the  easy-going  natives  to  the 
necessity  of  carrying  out  this  extensive  scheme  of  cultiva- 
tion of  a  crop  which  brings  such  slow  returns  (ten  years 
to  wait  at  the  very  least).  However,  the  plantations  were 
made,  and  the  waste  lands  transformed  to  their  present 
beauty.  But  even  now  the  apathy  of  the  villagers  is  such 
that,  although  the  shore  may  be  strewn  with  masses  of  sea- 
weed, which,  if  collected  and  dug  into  the  earth  round  the 
roots  of  the  palms,  would  materially  increase  the  crops, 
they  will  scarcely  ever  exert  themselves  to  utilise  the 
manure  thus  laid  ready  to  their  hand. 

At  Jaffna  and  Batticaloa,  where  the  cocoa-palms  are  now 
iibiquitous,  and  might  well  be  supposed  to  be  indigenous, 
European  planters  only  commenced  work  in  1841,  and,  as 
I  have  already  shown,  mauy  of  the  early  plantations  ruined 
their  first  owners. 

It  is  certainly  remarkable  how  rarely  the  cocoa-palm  is 
mentioned  in  old  Ceylonese  history ;  it  is  never  alluded  to 
as  food,  whereas  the  palmyra  and  taliput  palms  are  fre- 
quently referred  to.  Not  till  the  twelfth  century  is  it 
named  as  a  tree  worthy  of  cultivation.  At  all  events  its 
merits  are  fully  recognised  in  this  nineteenth  century ! 

At  Galle  the  heavy  rainfall,  attracted  by  the  neighbouring 
hill  ranges  (and  which  is  three  inches  in  the  year  in  excess 
of  that  at  Colombo,  the  respective  measurements  being  ninety 
and  eighty-seven   inches),  must  always  have  favoured  the 


COCOA-PALMS.  181 

luxuriant  vegetation,  and  no  tree  is  more  gratefully  respon- 
sive for  an  abundant  supply  of  rain  than  is  the  cocoa-palm, 
of  which  it  has  been  calculated  that  tliose  beariug  fruit  in 
this  district  alone  exceed  5,300,000.  The  total  number  of 
fruit-bearing  palms  on  the  shores  of  Ceylon  is  estimated 
at  50,000,000,  besides  200,000,000  which  are  either  unpro- 
ductive or  are  forced  to  yield  their  life-blood  in  the  form 
of  toddy,  chiefly  for  the  manufacture  of  arrack.  But  it  is 
estimated  that,  even  at  the  low  average  of  twenty-four  nuts 
to  a  tree  (and  very  many  bear  from  sixty  to  eighty),  one 
thousand  millions  of  nuts  are  annually  allowed  to  ripen  for 
the  good  of  man.  Unlike  the  date,  the  cocoa-palm  bears 
male  and  female  flowers  on  the  same  tree — in  fact,  on  the 
same  cluster.  The  number  of  actually  barren  or  male  palms 
in  Ceylon  is  singularly  small,  being  said  not  to  exceed  one 
in  three  or  four  thousand. 

I  speak  of  this  palm  as  belonging  to  the  shore,  for  it  is 
emphatically  a  coast  tree,  flourishing  in  a  belt  about  fifteen 
miles  in  width.  The  places  where  it  has  been  successfully 
planted  inland  are  so  few  as  to  be  quite  exceptional.  Such 
are  Mihintale,  the  sacred  hill  near  Anuradhapura,  where 
groups  of  graceful  palms  wave  around  the  great  dagobas 
which  crown  the  summit.  I  also  saw  large  flourishing 
plantations  in  good  bearing  at  Matele,  which  is  about  a 
hundred  miles  inland  and  about  127i  feet  above  the  sea- 
level  ;  they  also  bear  well  at  Kandy,  Gampola,  Kurunegalla, 
and  Badulla,  all  of  which  are  far  inland,  and  the  latter  2241 
feet  above  the  sea.  A  few  scattered  cocoa-palms  have 
been  grown  as  high  as  3500  feet,  but  these  bear  no  fruit. 

The  Singhalese  have  a  saying  that  this  friendly  palm 
cannot  live  far  from  the  sea,  or  from  the  sound  of  the 
human  voice,  and  in  proof  thereof  point  out  that  wherever 


182  TRINCOMALEE   TO   GALLE. 

you  see  a  cluster  of  these  tall  crowns  you  are  sure  to  find 
a  human  house  not  far  off.  And  what  can  be  more  natural, 
seeing  that  each  tree  is  somebody's  private  and  very  valu- 
able property/  the  precious  provider  of  "  golden  eggs "  in 
the  form  of  material  for  all  things  needful  to  existence  ? 

The  half-ripe  fruits  (in  their  hard  outer  cover,  green  or 
golden  as  the  case  may  be)  supply  food  of  the  consistency 
of  jelly,  and  cool  refreshing  drink  in  a  natural  cup.  The 
older  brown  nuts  (as  we  know  them  in  Britain)  give  the 
hard  white  kernel  which  is  scraped  as  a  flavouring  for 
curry,  or  mixed  with  sugar  (obtained  from  the  sap)  to 
make  cakes,  or  else  scraped  and  squeezed  through  a  cloth 
to  obtain  delicious  cream  which  is  excellent  in  tea  when 
cow's  milk  is  not  to  be  obtained.  I  believe  that  the  Singha- 
lese anoint  their  glossy  black  hair  with  a  fine  oil  obtained 
by  boiling  this  cream,  but  the  regular  oil  of  commerce  is 
extracted  from  the  kernel  after  it  has  been  left  to  dry  in 
the  sun,  when  it  is  known  as  copperah. 

The  small  native  oil-mills,  or  "  chekku,"  as  they  are  called, 
aie  of  the  rudest  construction,  and  turned  by  bullocks. 
Being  entirely  made  of  wood,  they  creak  in  the  most  ear- 
splitting  fashion,  but  they  do  their  work  so  efficiently  and 
so  cheaply  that,  happily  for  all  who  appreciate  primitive 
Oriental  scenes,  they  hold  their  ground  against  the  costly 
steam  oil-mills,  steam  crushers,  and  hydraulic  presses  set 
up  near  Colombo  by  foreigners,  so  that  about  nine  hundred 

^  Here  is  a  case  in  point : — 

"MUEDER  ARISING  OCT  OF  A  ClAIM  FOR  A  CoCO-NUT  TeEE. — On  the  11th 

September  1890  Josappu,  a  tavern-keeper  of  Payyagala,  was  severely  assaulted 
by  his  cousin  Bachappu  and  two  others.  The  injured  man  was  removed  to 
the  Kalutara  Hospital,  where  he  died  the  following  day.  It  would  seem  that 
Josappu  claimed  a  share  of  the  profits  of  a  coco-nut  tree  which  Bachappu  was 
exclusively  enjoying.  The  latter  could  not  or  would  not  see  the  validity  of 
his  cousin's  claim.     A  quarrel  ensued,  with  the  result  aforesaid." 


NATIVE   OIL-MILLS.  183 

of  these  quaint  mills  are  still  creaking  and  grinding  in  the 
southern  and  western  provinces.  (In  1876  it  was  stated 
that  there  were  in  the  whole  Isle  1930  chekkus  worked  by 
bullocks,  besides  about  a  dozen  steam  mills  with  hydraulic 
machinery.) 

Many  of  these  chekkus  are  quite  small,  and  worked  by 
man-power,  and  very  picturesque  they  are,  with  a  miniature 
thatch  of  palm-leaves  over  the  small  vat  containing  the 
copperah,  and  perhaps  two  or  three  brown  children  perched 
on  the  long  handle  by  which  their  father  turns  the  vat,  and 
so  crushes  out  the  oil.  The  clothing  of  such  groups  is 
reduced  to  a  minimum,  that  of  the  children  often  consistinf; 
only  of  some  charm  against  the  evil  eye  or  to  protect  them 
from  devils.  The  refuse  left  after  extraction  of  the  oil  is 
called  poonac,  and  is  either  used  as  food  for  cattle  and 
poultry  or  for  manuring  the  soil. 

ISTo  refining  process  is  required  beyond  a  week's  exposure 
to  the  sun,  by  which  time  all  impurities  will  have  sunk  to 
the  bottom,  and  the  oil  can  at  once  be  drawn  off  into  casks. 
It  is  largely  exported,  to  be  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
soaps  and  lubricants,  also  in  the  preparation  of  stearine 
candles,  and  for  these  purposes  is  in  increasing  demand. 
In  Ceylon  it  is  much  used  as  a  liniment  wherewith  to  rub 
the  body  in  cases  of  rheumatism  and  other  aihiients,  and 
the  Tamils,  not  the  Singhalese,  habitually  oil  their  bodies 
after  bathing ;  but  as  regards  light,  the  simple  lamp  formed 
of  a  cocoa-nut  shell,  and  fed  with  cocoa-nut  oil,  is  now 
very  generally  replaced,  even  in  native  huts,  by  a  kerosine 
lamp,  as  the  imported  mineral  oil,  even  after  all  its  long 
journey  from  America,  is  cheaper  than  the  native  product. 

It  is  not  only  in  rheumatism  that  cocoa-nut  oil  is  esteemed 
as  a  remedy ;  it  is  also  applied  to  counteract  insect  stings, 


184  TRINCOMALEE   TO    GALLE. 

and  when  mixed  with  the  juice  of  the  leaves  is  used  in  cases 
of  ophthalmia.  Another  sort  of  oil,  extracted  from  the  hark, 
is  applied  in  skin  diseases,  and  even  the  root  yields  a  medi- 
cine for  the  fever-stricken.  An  astringent  lotion,  bitter  as 
alum,  is  obtained  from  the  flower,  which  also  (when  bruised 
in  the  manner  I  described  when  speaking  of  the  palmyra- 
palm)  yields  toddy,  vinegar,  sugar,  and,  when  distilled,  the 
intoxicating  spirit  called  arrack. 

Toddy,  which  when  first  drawn  in  the  early  morning 
forms  rather  a  pleasant  drink,  commences  fermentation  before 
noon,  and  is  highly  efficacious  as  a  leaven  for  bread.  After 
standing  a  few  hours  it  becomes  highly  intoxicating,  and  is 
frequently  made  more  so  by  adulteration  with  nux-vomica, 
seeds  of  Indian  hemp,  datura,  and  other  poisons.  A  fine  of 
fifty  rupees  is,  however,  incurred  by  any  person  detected 
in  thus  drugging  either  toddy  or  arrack. 

But  the  simple  mixing  of  toddy  and  arrack  (i.e.,  the  un- 
fermented  with  the  distilled  juice  of  the  beautiful  cocoa- 
flower)  produces  a  very  "  heady  "  drink,  on  which  a  man  can 
get  exceedingly  drunk  for  a  very  small  sum ;  and  sad  to 
say,  here  as  in  Lower  Bengal,  where  Buddhism  and  Chris- 
tianity have  successively  done  so  much  to  break  down  the 
restraints  of  caste,  that  gain  is  in  a  measure  neutralised  by 
the  fact  that  the  sobriety  once  characteristic  of  the  people  is 
rapidly  disappearing,  and  intemperance  is  grievously  on  the 
increase. 

It  is  a  sore  subject  that,  whereas  Hindoo,  Mahommedan, 
and  Buddhist  conquerors  have  ever  abstained  from  deriving 
any  revenue  from  the  intoxicating  spirits  which  are  for- 
bidden by  each  of  these  religions,  a  Christian  Government 
should  so  ruthlessly  place  temptation  at  every  corner  both 
in  Ceylon  and  in  India,  where,  as  has  been  publicly  stated 


A   HUNDRED    DRUNKARDS    FOR    EACH    CONVERT.      185 

by  an  Archdeacon  of  Bombay,  the  British  Government  has 
created  a  hundred  drunkards  for  each  convert  won  by 
Christian  missionaries. 

The  toddy  is  converted  into  arrack  in  small  local  distil- 
leries with  copper  stills  capable  of  containing  from  150  to 
200  gallons,  which  is  about  the  daily  produce  from  a  thou- 
sand trees,  to  which  a  small  quantity  of  sugar  and  about 
one-third  of  rice  is  generally  added.  When  distilled,  a 
liquor  is  produced  which  is  called  polwakara.  A  second 
distillation  produces  talwakara,  a  spirit  about  twenty  degrees 
below  proof.  When  the  process  has  been  repeated  a  third 
time,  arrack  of  the  desired  strength  is  obtained,  at  first  very 
crude  in  flavour,  but  after  having  been  stored  in  wood  for 
several  years  it  mellows,  and  even  finds  favour  with  Euro- 
peans. It  is  exported  from  Ceylon  to  Madras  and  served 
to  the  native  troops  as  a  daily  ration. 

The  arrack  trade  is  entirely  under  control  of  the  Ceylou 
Government,  which  derives  a  considerable  revenue  from  the 
sale  of  licenses  to  distillers  (each  of  whom  pays  a  yearly 
fee  of  one  hundred  rupees),  and  from  the  annual  sale  by 
auction  of  the  right  to  farm  arrack  taverns  in  all  parts  of 
the  Isle,  a  privilege  which,  being  annually  sold  to  the  highest 
bidder,  of  course  makes  it  to  his  interest  to  push  the  odious 
trade  and  establish  fiesh  centres  of  temptation  wherever  he 
can  possibly  do  so.  Never  was  the  old  proverb  that  Vocca- 
sion  fait  le  larron^  better  exemplified,  and  many  a  planter 
has  good  cause  to  complain  of  the  temptation  thus  brought 
to  the  very  door  of  his  coolies,  who  now  too  often  barter 
the  very  food  provided  for  them,  in  order  to  obtain  fiery 
liquor.^ 

1  Opportunity  makes  the  thief. 

-  I  see  that,  at  the  auction  of  arrack  rents  for  1890,  the  successful  bidder  for 


186  TRINCOMALEE   TO    GALLE. 

Nor  is  this  true  only  of  the  intoxicants  natural  to  the 
country.  Government  holds  a  monopoly  of  the  whole 
liquor  traffic  of  the  Isle,  and  has  therefore  a  direct  interest 
in  pushing  the  sale  of  drink.  Hence  railway  refreshment- 
cars  and  refreshment-rooms  at  railway  stations  are  exempt 
from  paying  license,  and  the  stations  themselves  (which  are 
Government  property)  are  placarded  with  advertisements  of 
the  whisky  which,  as  has  been  so  truly  said,  has  dug  more 
British  graves  in  Ceylon  than  malaria,  sunstroke,  and  cholera 
put  together,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  these  widely  scat- 
tered "  suggestions  "  are  largely  responsible  for  the  practice 
of  dram-drinking,  which  is  said  to  be  so  much  on  the 
increase. 

As  regards  the  natives,  who  are  always  so  largely  in- 
fluenced by  any  indication  of  tlie  will  of  the  ruling  power, 
the  mere  fact  that  drinking-places  are  sanctioned  by  Gov- 
ernment gives  them  a  measure  of  respectability  altogether 
contrary  to  unbiassed  native  opinion. 

the  privilege  of  farming  Kandy  paid  43,000  rupees  ;  Nuwara  Eliya  fetched 
70,000  ;  while  the  whole  of  the  Central  Province  was  knocked  down  for 
380,000  rupees.  All  the  provinces  of  the  Isle  collectively  realised  1,803,625, 
being  an  increase  of  242,171  rupees  since  1888. 

But  "  the  appetite  doth  grow  with  that  it  feeds  upon,"  and  when  the  rents 
for  the  Central  Province  were  put  up  for  sale  by  auction  from  July  1891  to 
June  1892,  with  the  strong  recommendation  of  the  Government  Agent  to  the 
renters  to  put  in  good  bids,  and  not  trouble  Government  to  call  for  higher 
tenders,  his  advice  was  so  well  received  that  470,000  rupees  were  offered  for 
the  lot,  being  90,000  rupees  in  excess  of  the  previous  year. 

In  further  proof  of  the  steady  increase  of  this  baneful  traffic,  I  may  also 
quote  the  sales  of  arrack  rents  for  the  North-Western  Province  in  April  1891. 
At  Kurunegala  there  was  a  large  gathering  of  renters  from  all  parts  of  the 
island,  the  Government  Agent  presiding.  There  was  brisk  bidding,  with  an 
exciting  finish.  The  result  was  112,200  rupees  for  the  district  of  Seven 
Korales  {i.e.,  14,700  more  than  last  year) ;  Yagampattu  and  Chilaw  districts, 
102,000  rupees  {i.e.,  21,800  rupees  more  than  last  year) ;  and  Puttalam  rents 
were  purchased  for  35,900  rupees,  being  an  advance  of  4000  on  last  vear. 


THE   REAL   SOURCE   OF   CRIME.  187 

For  plain  speaking  on  so  grave  a  subject,  I  may  refer 
to  the  official  report  on  the  Negombo  district  for  1890,  in 
which  Mr.  Lushington,  Assistant  Government  Agent  for  the 
Western  Province,  expresses  his  deliberate  conviction  that 
by  scattering  arrack  taverns  broadcast  over  the  land,  Govern- 
ment is  itself  encouraging  the  real  source  of  crime,  namely, 
the  habits  of  drunkenness  which  lead  to  gambling,  cock- 
fighting,  divers  forms  of  theft,  cattle-stealing,  quarrels,  and 
murders. 

He  finds  that  men  who  would  not  go  a  mile  to  procure 
intoxicants  yield  readily  to  the  temptation  when  brought 
to  their  very  doors,  and  while  pointing  out  that  more  than 
half  of  the  total  revenue  of  the  Western  Province  (apart 
from  customs  and  railway  receipts)  is  made  up  of  licenses 
chiefly  for  the  sale  of  intoxicants  and  such  narcotics  as 
bhang  and  opium,  he  proves  that  an  increase  in  such  revenue 
means  simply  a  corresponding  increase  in  demoralisation 
and  every  form  of  crime,  and  increased  expenditure  on  its 
repression  by  police  and  legal  machinery.  "  Piather  than 
give  up  a  few  thousand  rupees  of  revenue,  we  encourage 
the  people  to  sink  deeper  and  deeper  in  crime  by  increasing 
their  facilities  for  drinking." 

Mr.  Lushington  believes  that  nine-tenths  of  the  serious 
crimes  of  the  Isle  are  committed  within  a  mile  of  a  tavern, 
and  that  quite  one-half  arise  from  the  desperation  caused 
by  losses  at  gambling.  He  says  that  in  the  maritime 
districts  every  village  has  its  cockpit,  every  group  of 
villages  its  gambling  den,  and  near  to  each  is  either  a 
tavern  or  a  place  for  the  illicit  sale  of  arrack. 

And  here  comes  in  another  grave  difficulty,  for  in  this 
strange  Isle  the  very  men  who  have  purchased  a  monopoly 
for  the  sale  of  intoxicants  are  frequently  in  league  with  the 


188  TRINCOMALEE    TO    GALLE. 

smugglers  aud  unlicensed  arrack-sellers,  actually  sharing  in 
their  profits.  Vigilant  and  conscientious  indeed  must  be 
the  police  who  could  cope  with  such  a  state  of  things. 

To  return  to  the  more  legitimate  uses  of  the  good  cocoa- 
palm.  Another  form  in  which  the  nut  is  used  as  food  (a 
form,  however,  more  appreciated  in  the  South  Seas  than  in 
Ceylon)  is  when,  in  the  early  stage  of  germination,  the  kernel 
is  transformed  into  a  puffy  ball,  quite  filling  up  the  shell. 

The  said  shell  furnishes  the  household  drinking-cups, 
spoons,  lamps,  and  musical  instruments,  if  I  may  so  describe 
the  clattering  castanets.  Ilie  outermost  husk  serves  as 
household  scrubbing-brushes  and  fuel,  while  the  thick  fibre 
in  which  the  nut  is  so  securely  embedded  is  the  coir  used 
for  making  ropes,  cables,  mattresses,  nets,  brushes,  and 
matting.  This  is  prepared  by  soaking  the  husks  for  a 
considerable  time,  if  possible,  in  tanks  or  pits  on  the  margin 
of  the  sea,  as  salt  or  brackish  water  improves  the  fibre, 
whereas  steeping  it  in  fresh  water  deteriorates  it  and  creates 
an  obnoxious  smell.  When  thoroughly  steeped,  the  husks 
are  beaten  with  heavy  wooden  mallets  and  then  dried  in 
the  sun.  The  ropes  are  all  made  by  hand-machinery, 
chiefly  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Galle  and  Colombo,  and  are 
used  for  shipping,  housebuilding,  lashing  bridges,  tethering 
cattle,  &c. 

So  securely  is  the  nut  embedded  in  this  outer  packing- 
case,  that  a  hungry  man,  not  provided  with  a  hatchet  and 
uninitiated  in  the  method  of  extracting  it,  might  very 
well  be  sorely  tantalised  in  the  midst  of  plenty.  In  fact, 
it  requires  considerable  strength  as  well  as  some  skill  to 
tear  off  the  hard  covering. 

For  this  purpose  near  every  cocoa-grove  strong  wooden 
stakes  are  driven  into  the  ground,  leaving  two  or  three  feet 


PRINCIPAL   USES    OF   THE   COCOA-PALM.  189 

above  ground.  Each  stake  is  cut  to  a  sharp  point,  and  the 
man  who  has  to  skin  a  cocoa-nut  takes  it  in  both  hands  and 
violently  dashes  it  on  to  the  stake  so  as  to  impale  it.  Then 
wrenching  it  from  side  to  side,  he  succeeds  in  tearing  off 
the  husk,  and  obtains  the  hard  nut  inside  with  the  three 
eyes  familiar  to  every  British  boy.  On  a  large  estate  this 
forms  a  serious  item  of  labour.  It  is  said  that  the  coir  is 
less  brittle  and  of  a  better  quality  if  the  nuts  are  plucked 
before  they  are  fully  ripe,  and  these  also  yield  a  larger 
proportion  of  oil. 

Such  are  the  principal  uses  of  only  the  flower  and  fruit 
of  this  generous  tree.  When  we  come  to  reckon  the  very 
varied  purposes  to  which  every  separate  portion  of  the 
leaves,  trunk,  and  root  are  applied,  we  find  that  the  Sin- 
ghalese enumeration  of  the  hundred  uses  of  their  beloved 
palm  is  no  figure  of  speech,  but  a  practical  fact. 

As  further  varieties  of  food,  the  young  buds,  when  boiled, 
are  eaten  as  a  vegetable  something  like  cabbage,  and  when 
a  tree  is  blown  down  or  stricken  with  lightning,  a  sort  of 
sago  is  obtained  from  the  pith  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
trunk.  Such  windfalls  are  only  too  common,  but  deli- 
berately to  fell  a  fruit-bearing  tree  would  seem  too  foolish, 
seeing  that  from  the  time  a  palm  commences  bearing,  at 
about  ten  years  of  age,  it  yields  its  full  crop  annually  for 
about  eighty  years. 

In  this  region  of  terrific  thunderstorms  the  value  of  these 
tall  palms  as  lightning-conductors  is  inestimable,  and  many 
a  home  has  been  saved  by  their  superior  attraction. 

The  Singhalese  say  that  you  can  build  a  house  and 
furnish  it,  or  build  a  ship  and  freight  it,  solely  from  the 
products  of  this  palm.  It  would  puzzle  a  European  to 
build  a  seaworthy  vessel  without  a  single  nail,  but  here 


190  THINCOMALEE   TO   GALLE. 

square-rigged  vessels,  called  dhonies,  and  large  canoes, 
whicli  resist  the  heaviest  surf,  are  stitched  together  with 
coir  yarn,  which  in  salt  water  is  almost  imperishable. 
Small  canoes  are  made  from  a  single  trunk  hollowed  out, 
and  balanced  by  a  smaller  stem  floating  alongside ;  the 
cordage,  mat-sail,  and  fishing-net  are  made  of  coir;  the 
torch  or  chule  which  lights  our  night-march  through  the 
forest,  or  which  the  fisherman  burns  to  attract  fish,  is  made 
of  dried  palm  leaves. 

As  to  the  house,  the  palm  trunk  supplies  all  its  wood- 
work, while  its  thatch  is  supplied  by  the  leaves  plaited  so 
as  to  form  a  sort  of  long  narrow  mat  called  cadjan.  Garden 
fences  and  even  small  huts  are  made  entirely  of  these 
cadjans.  From  the  leaf-stalk  is  formed  the  pingo  or  yoke 
which  a  man  balances  on  his  shoulder  with  his  fish  or  vege- 
tables hanging  from  either  end,  or  else  it  can  be  used  as  the 
handle  for  a  cocoa-nut  fibre  broom.  Its  thick  end  answers 
as  the  paddle  of  a  canoe,  or  if  soaked  like  coir  it  furnishes 
a  strong  black  fibre-like  horse-hair  from  which  ropes  and 
fishing  lines  are  manufactured.  I  must  not  forget  to  men- 
tion that  cocoa-nut  water  mixed  with  lime  produces  a  strong 
cement. 

In  short,  as  good  George  Herbert  long  ago  pithily  put 
it — 

'•',..  The  Indian  nut  alone 
Is  clothing,  meat,  and  trencher,  drink  and  can, 
Boat,  cable,  sail,  mast,  needle,  all  in  one." 

AYell  may  this  grateful  Isle  adopt  the  cocoa-palm  as  the 
emblem  on  her  coinage ! 

A  very  elegant  use  of  the  young  leaves  is  in  the  decora- 
tion of  pandals  and  churches,  one  tall  leaf  on  each  side  of 
a  window  forming  a  very  effective  decoration.      Of  course,  a 


A    CHARM    AGAINST    EVIL    SPIRITS.  191 

cocoa-nut  blossom  is  always  an  exquisite  object,  but  besides 
the  cruel  wastefulness  of  sacrificing  a  whole  cluster  of 
embryo  nuts,  there  is  the  disadvantage  that  to  the  native 
mind  it  suggests  a  charm  against  evil  spirits,  for  which 
purpose  it  is  placed  over  the  cradle  of  the  new-born  babe, 
and  over  the  grave  of  the  newly  buried. 


192 


CHAPTER    XXL 


SOUTHERN   COAST. 


Matara— The  leper  king — Leper  Hospital— Dondra  Head — Tangalle— 
Mulgirigalla— Hambantota — Salt  lakes — Magama — Happy  hunting- 
grounds — Kataragama. 

Before  turning  northward  to  Colombo  I  wished  to  see 
something  of  the  southern  coast  of  the  Isle,  and  gladly 
accepted  an  invitation  from  the  same  kind  friends  who  had 
made  our  stay  in  Negombo  so  pleasant,  to  visit  them  in  a 
new  home  at  Matara,  a  most  lovely  place  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Nilwalla  Ganga  (i.e.,  the  river  of  blue  sand),  and  only 
four  miles  from  Dondra  Head,  which  is  the  southernmost 
point  of  the  island.-^ 

Leaving  Galle  before  daybreak  by  the  royal-mail  coach, 

^  During  my  two  years  in  the  Isle  this  family  was  subjected  to  all 
the  trouble  and  expense  of  moving  three  times,  that  is  to  say,  of  selling 
off  their  furniture  (of  course  at  considerable  loss),  renting  and  furnish- 
ing a  new  home,  and  finding  new  servants. 

This  system  of  continually,  and  on  the  shortest  notice,  moving  Civil 
servants  from  one  corner  of  the  Isle  to  another,  either  as  a  "permanent" 
appointment  or  as  locum  tenens  for  some  one  temporarily  transferred  to 
other  work,  is  a  very  grave  drawback.  No  sooner  has  a  man  begun  to 
understand  his  duties  in  one  district,  and  to  know  something  of  the 
people  around  him,  than  he  is  liable  to  be  uprooted  and  ordered  off  to 
take  up  an  entirely  different  line  of  work,  perhaps  among  people  of 
another  race  and  language. 


THE    OUT-GOINGS    OF    MORNING   AND    EVENING.     193 

I  had  an  exquisite  drive  of  about  twenty-five  miles,  all  close 
by  the  sea,  with  its  magnificent  green  waves  booming  as 
they  broke  in  dazzling  surf  on  the  white  sands,  only  hidden 
now  and  again  by  the  wealth  of  luxuriant  vegetation,  the 
whole  glorified  by  the  golden  light  and  purple  clouds  and 
shadows  of  early  morning,  soon  replaced  by  clear  sunlight 
and  the  vivid  blue  of  sea  and  sky. 

Certainly  one  great  charm  of  the  tropical  habit  of  always 
being  out  before  sunrise  and  again  at  sunset  is  that  we  do 
profit  by  all  Nature's  gorgeous  but  too  fleeting  displays  of 
colour,  which  so  many  people  in  Britain  never  see  except 
in  winter,  simply  because  they  are  asleep  in  the  mornings, 
or  tied  and  bound  by  the  evening  solemnities  of  dinner. 
Happily  the  latter  offers  no  hindrance  in  Ceylon,  where  the 
sun  sets  all  the  year  round  at  six  o'clock. 

Much  as  is  written  of  tropical  sunrises,  I  have  seen 
just  as  many  in  Britain,  the  gorgeousness  of  which  has 
been  quite  indescribable.  This  very  morning,  in  Septem- 
ber, looking  due  east  from  my  window  in  Scotland  at 
4.30  A.M.,  I  looked  out  on  a  horizon  of  intense  orange 
verging  into  sea-green,  while  the  whole  upper  sky  was 
covered  with  the  loveliest  rose-coloured  clouds  on  a  pearly- 
grey  ground,  and  against  all  this  the  trees  and  wooded  hills 
stood  out  almost  black.  But  when  the  sun  rose  at  5  A.M., 
though  the  sky  was  lovely,  it  was  not  at  all  exciting,  and 
by  the  time  the  household  awoke,  all  was  quite  dull  and 
commonplace.  So  that  of  these  ever-new  glories,  as  of 
many  other  things,  I  can  only  say  people  do  not  see  them 
because  tliey  do  not  look  for  them. 

Sixteen  miles  from  Galle  the  coach  halted  at  tlie  pretty 
village  of  Belligama,  now  called  Welligama,  i.e.,  the  Sand 
Village,  at  the  head  of  a  beautiful  bay,  wherein  lay  a  crowd 

VOL.  II.  >' 


194  SOUTHERN    COAST. 

of  picturesque  fishing-boats.  There  too  lies  an  island 
known  as  Crow  Island,  on  account  of  the  multitude  of 
crows  ^  which  come  every  night  to  roost  in  the  tall  cocoa- 
])alnis,  returning  to  the  mainland  at  early  dawn  to  forage 
for  themselves  wherever  human  homes  suggest  a  prospect 
of  obtaining  food  by  fair  means  or  foul. 

The  small  red-tiled,  white-pillared  rest-house  is  pleasantly 
situated  so  as  to  command  a  good  view  of  the  sea,  and 
stands  in  a  shady  garden,  where  large  bread-fruit  and  other 
trees  are  matted  with  graceful  climbing  plants,  hanging 
in  festoons  from  the  boughs.  Unfortunately,  there  are, 
it  is  said,  rather  a  numerous  supply  of  black  scorpions  to  be 
found  about  the  place ;  but  then  in  Ceylon  one  has  always 
to  keep  instinctive  watch  against  noxious  creatures  of 
various  sorts,  with  the  result  that  one  very  rarely  comes  in 
contact  with  any. 

The  chief  interest  of  the  place  centres  in  a  statue  about 
twelve  feet  in  height,  sculptured  in  a  niche  cut  into  a  huge 
rock-boulder,  and  shaded  by  kitool  and  cocoa  palms  and 
flowering  shrubs.  The  statue  is  that  of  the  Kushta  Eajah 
or  Leper  King,  supposed  from  his  dress  to  have  been  a 
Singhalese  king  of  the  twelfth  century — some  say  589. 
Tradition  is  somewhat  uncertain  concerning  his  merits,  for 
according  to  one  version,  it  was  he  who  first  imported  the 
cocoa-palm  to  Ceylon,  and  here  planted  a  large  tract  of  the 
coast;  whereas  another  legend  tells  how  it  was  revealed  to 
the  afflicted  king,  that  if  he  visited  the  coast  of  Ceylon 
and  worshipped  the  relic  in  the  Buddhist  shrine  at  Belli- 
gama,  and  further  ate  of  the  fruit  of  a  tree  then  unknown 
to  him,  which  proved  to  be  the  cocoa-palm,  he  would 
be   healed  of  his  sore  disease.     And  he  was  healed,  and 

^  Corvus  splcndens. 


ASYLUM    FOR    LEPERS    AT    HENDALA.  195 

as  his  thank-offering  he  richly  endowed  the  temple  at 
Welligama. 

Sad  to  say,  the  "  tree  of  blessing "  has  lost  its  magic 
power,  and  the  poor  lepers  of  Ceylon  are  deemed  as  incur- 
able as  those  of  other  lands.  Happily  they  are  not  very 
numerous,  only  about  1800  in  a  population  of  3,000,000,  but 
it  is  sad  to  learn  that  their  number  is  steadily  increasing. 

In  Ceylon  there  is  no  law  of  compulsory  segregation, 
though  all  sufferers  are  encouraged  to  seek  an  asylum  in 
the  leper  hospital  at  Hendala,  about  four  miles  from 
Colombo,  where  208  are  well  cared  for,  and  are  fed  and 
clothed  at  the  expense  of  the  colony.  Within  the  last 
few  years  two  small  chapels  have  been  erected  for  their 
benefit,  one  for  the  Roman  Catholic  patients,  the  other 
(the  gift  of  Mrs.  Copleston,  wife  of  the  present  Bishop  of 
Colombo)  for  the  use  of  all  Christians,  of  whatever  de- 
nomination, whose  pastors  may  be  willing  to  hold  services 
in  that  sad  asylum.  About  200  more  are  at  large  in 
Colombo. 

In  this  rock-hewn  statue  the  attitude  of  the  hands  is 
peculiar.  Both  are  uplifted  from  the  elbow ;  but  whereas 
the  left  hand  is  closed,  the  right  is  open  except  that  the 
first  finger  meets  the  thumb,  as  if  his  Majesty  were  about  to 
indulge  in  a  pinch  of  snuff.  This  is  noteworthy,  because  in 
Buddhist  statues  the  first  and  second  fingers  alone  are  gene- 
rally upraised,  in  the  conventional  attitude  of  benediction. 

On  my  return  journey,  driving  leisurely,  I  was  able  to 
secure  a  picture  of  the  Leper  King,  and  also  to  note  (for  the 
thousandth  time)  the  efficacy  of  one  simple  palm  leaf,  which 
you  must  remember  is  about  fourteen  feet  in  length,  knotted 
round  the  stem  of  the  parent  tree  for  the  protection  of  the 
tempting  clusters  of  cocoa-nuts,  which,  but  for  that  leaf 


19G  SOUTHERN    COAST. 

would  surely  prove  irresistible  to  thirsty  wayfarers.  But 
the  tree  so  marked  is  placed  under  special  protection  of 
some  guardian  spirit,  and  superstition  prevails  where  honesty 
might  fail,  as  it  is  firmly  believed  that  any  one  eating  of 
the  fruit  would  suffer  severely.  Sometimes  the  knotted  leaf 
denotes  that  the  tree  is  dedicated  to  some  shrine,  Roman 
Catholic,  Buddhist,  or  Hindoo,  in  which  case  a  selection  of 
the  finest  nuts  is  sent  as  an  offering,  or  sometimes  oil  is 
made  from  the  nuts  to  burn  before  the  altar. 

Cordial  was  the  welcome  that  awaited  me  in  a  delight- 
fully situated  two-storied  bungalow  on  the  very  brink  of 
the  beautiful  Nilwalla  Paver.  From  its  cool  upper  verandah, 
where  we  daily  met  for  very  early  breakfast,  we  looked 
down  on  a  wilderness  of  glossy  large-leafed  plants  to  the 
reaches  of  the  river,  all  embowered  in  grassy  groves  of  most 
luxuriant  palms  of  all  ages,  leaning  far  over  the  water,  with 
here  and  there  beds  of  flowering  reeds  and  tall  water-grasses 
and  shrubs. 

I  found  most  fascinating  sketching-ground  at  every  turn, 
both  far  and  near,  and  only  wish  it  were  in  the  power  of 
words  to  convey  any  idea  of  those  charming  scenes,  in  all 
their  lovely  changes  of  colours,  at  the  "  outgoing  of  morning 
and  evening,"  and  also  in  the  calm  beauty  of  full  moon- 
light. I  think  the  most  attractive  of  all  was  the  meeting 
of  the  "  broad,  and  deep,  and  still "  waters  of  the  river  with 
those  of  the  heaving  ocean,  the  faithful  palms  enfolding  the 
stream  to  the  very  last,  as  if  loath  to  let  it  glide  away. 
Doubtless  such  rivers  as  these  carry  many  a  floating  nut 
far  out  to  sea,  perhaps  to  be  washed  ashore  and  take  root 
on  some  distant  isle. 

So  great  was  the  charm  of  quietly  boating  in  such  sur- 
roundings, that  it  needed   some  effort  to   turn   elsewhere, 


CREMATION    OF    THE   POET    KALIDAS.  197 

although  we  found  beauty  on  every  side.  At  Matara,  as 
indeed  in  all  the  chief  towns'  or  villages  along  this  coast, 
the  hand  of  the  Dutch  is  still  visible  in  houses  and  fortifi- 
cations, and  the  ramparts  of  a  small  fort  built  of  coral-rock 
were  a  pleasant  point  from  wliich  to  watch  the  breaking 
waves  bathing  the  roots  of  the  cocoa-palms  overhanging 
one  of  the  many  lovely  bays  which  form  so  attractive  a 
feature  of  these  shores.^ 

Within  the  fort  is  the  old  Dutch  church,  originally 
built  for  the  garrison,  but  now  used  by  civilians  of  diffe- 
rent denominations,  Presbyterian  and  Episcopal,  at  difierent 
hours. 

A  very  romantic  tradition  attaches  to  Matara  respecting 
a  certain  King  Kutara  Daas,  who,  thirteen  hundred  years 
ago,  delighted  in  composing  verses.  This  royal  poet  having 
written  a  very  graceful  couplet,  added  beneath  his  lines  a 
promise  of  great  reward  to  whoever  should  complete  the 
stanza.  Tiie  poet  Kalidas  saw  the  couplet,  and  added 
another,  which  he  committed  to  the  care  of  a  lady  of  evil 
reputation,  who  resolved  to  secure  the  reward  for  herself, 
and  so  she  murdered  the  poet  and  vowed  that  the  lines 
were  her  own. 

The  king,  however,  recognised  the  master-hand,  and 
having  detected  the  murder  and  discovered  the  body  of  the 
poet,  he  had  it  unearthed  and  gave  him  a  noble  funeral 
pyre.  When  it  was  ablaze,  lie  himself  rushed  into  the 
flames,  that  he  might  thus  be  re-united  to  his  friend. 
Thereupon  his  live  queens  likewise  immolated  themselves, 
and  thus  followed  their  lord.     This  happened  in   the  year 

^  On  29tli  May  1891,  a  very  sinjjnlar  |ihenoiiienon  occurred  at  Mfitara. 
namely,  i<  shoiver  of  red  raui  which  fell  on  the  town,  exteniling  over  a 
radius  of  about  two  miles.  Some  of  this  strange  rain-water  was  preserved 
by  the  wondering  natives. 


198  SOUTPIEIIN    COAST. 

A.D.  522,  when  seven  sacred  Bo-trees  were  planted  over 
their  seven  tombs,  which  continued  to  be  held  in  honour 
till  1783,  when  a  ruthless  Dutchman  cut  these  venerable 
trees  and  used  the  tombs  as  building  material !  But  though 
now  only  a  plantation  of  cocoa-palms,  the  place  still  retains 
its  old  name  of  Hat-bodin,  "  the  seven  Bo-trees." 

One  of  our  most  interesting  expeditions  was  an  early 
morning  drive  to  Dondra  Head,  by  a  coast-road  all  of  the 
same  character,  along  a  shore  of  wave-kissed  palms.  Two 
thousand  years  ago  this  southernmost  point  of  the  Isle  was 
a  place  of  exceeding  sanctity,  known  as  Devi-nuwara,  "  the 
city  of  the  gods,"  also  called  Tanaveram.  A  magnificent 
temple  to  Vishnu,  as  incarnate  in  Eama  Chandra,  is  known 
to  have  existed  here  in  the  seventh  century — a  temple  so 
vast  that  passing  ships  mistook  it  for  a  city.  The  great 
central  pagoda  and  towers  were  roofed  with  plates  of  gilded 
copper,  and  the  temple,  wherein  were  stone  and  bronze 
images  of  a  thousand  idols,  was  surrounded  by  cloisters 
and  colonnades  and  terraced  gardens,  where  flowering  shrubs 
were  cultivated  to  supply  fragrant  blossoms  for  the  daily 
offerings. 

Ibn  Batuta,  a  celebrated  Moorish  traveller,  who,  starting 
from  Tangiers  in  1344,  devoted  twenty-eight  years  to  travel, 
came  to  Dondra  and  saw  this  wonderful  building.  As  a 
good  Mahommedan,  he  could  not  himself  enter  an  idolatrous 
temple,  but  was  told  that  one  of  the  idols,  the  size  of  a 
man,  was  made  of  pure  gold,  and  had  for  eyes  two  rubies 
so  large  and  so  lustrous  that  at  night  they  shone  like  lan- 
terns. There  were  then  a  thousand  Brahmans  attached 
to  the  temple,  and  five  hundred  dancing  and  singing  girls. 
The  town,  which  he  calls  Dinewar,  was  then  a  large  place 
inhabited  by  merchants,  and  was  all  temple  property. 


ANCIENT    TEMPLE    AT    DOXDRA    HEAD.  199 

Pilgrims  crowded  to  worship  at  a  sliriue  second  in  re- 
nown only  to  that  of  the  holy  footprint  on  Adam's  Peak, 
and  the  consequent  wealth  of  the  temple  in  gold  and  gems, 
ivory  and  sandalwood,  was  such  as  to  awaken  the  covetous- 
ness  of  the  Portuguese,  who  in  1587,  under  De  Souza 
d'Arronches,  devastated  this  coast,  committing  indescribable 
cruelties.  Having  plundered  all  treasures,  destroyed  the 
idols,  and  burnt  their  gorgeous  cars,  and  whatever  else 
could  be  so  consumed,  the  soldiers  proceeded  to  demolish 
the  temple  and  level  with  the  ground  its  arches,  gates,  and 
towers  ;  finally,  as  a  crowning  indignity,  they  slaughtered 
cows  in  the  sacred  courts,  thereby  defiling  the  very  ground 
for  ever,  and  thus  the  famous  temple  was  reduced  to  a 
shapeless  mass  of  ruins. 

There  still  remain  about  200  granite  columns  which 
formed  part  of  the  colonnades,  and  also  a  finely-sculptured 
gateway,  the  lintel  of  which,  when  struck,  gives  a  ringing 
sound  like  a  bell.  Other  stone  carvings  lie  scattered  about 
over  a  considerable  space,  but,  sad  to  say,  regardless  of  all 
antiquarian  interest,  these  ruins  have  been  regarded  as  a 
convenient  quarry,  and  while  some  sculptured  pillars  have 
been  carried  off  to  act  as  milestones,  others  have  been  taken 
by  the  native  fishermen  to  construct  a  pier. 

Of  course  the  Brahmans  were  not  allowed  to  monopolise 
a  place  so  holy,  consequently  the  Buddhists  here  erected 
one  of  their  earliest  dagobas,  the  renovation  of  which  by 
successive  sovereigns  was  recorded  in  historic  annals.  Now 
this  ancient  relic-shrine  is  likewise  a  ruin,  and  the  modern 
worshippers  of  Buddha,  Vishnu,  and  Siva  make  common 
cause,  the  shrines  of  the  Hindoo  deities  ilanking  those  of 
Buddha  and  his  disciples  in  the  Buddhist  temple. 

Once  a  year,  at  the  time  of  the  midsummer  full  moon. 


200  SOUTHERN   COAST. 

tliis  quiet  village  is  the  scene  of  a  great  religious  festival 
and  fair,  combined  attractions  which  draw  thousands  of 
pilgrims  and  other  folk  to  Dondra  Head  for  a  week's 
holiday  ;  and  very  picturesque  these  crowds  must  be,  all 
in  their  gayest  attire,  camped  beneath  the  palms  and  along 
the  shore. 

Eows  of  temporary  sheds  are  erected  and  rapidly  trans- 
formed into  hundreds  of  small  shops  for  the  sale  of  all 
manner  of  food,  fruit,  cakes,  curry-stuffs,  confectionery, 
native  books,  Tangalla  brass-ware,  tortoise-shell  combs, 
tobacco-leaves,  betel-leaves  and  areca-nuts,  cloth,  cheap 
jewellery,  and  toys. 

The  relij^^ious  ceremony  is  a  Perahera,  when  the  shrine 
containing  some  precious  relic  is  carried  round  the  village 
in  solemn  procession,  followed  by  lay  and  ecclesiastical 
officials  in  their  Kandyan  state  dress,  and  escorted  by  a 
troop  of  trumpeters,  shell-blowers,  and  tomtom-beaters, 
making  their  usual  deafening  noise. 

In  1889  the  Queen's  birthday  was  celebrated  by  a  very 
different  event,  namely,  laying  the  last  stone  to  complete 
the  finest  lighthouse  on  the  coast,  one  of  a  series  extending 
from  Colombo  right  round  the  southern  coast  of  Ceylon  as 
far  as  the  "  Great "  and  "  Little  Basses,"  within  such  moderate 
distances  of  one  another  as  to  afford  all  possible  security  in 
navigation.  The  foundations  of  this  latest  addition  to  the 
lights  of  Ceylon  were  hewn  in  the  solid  rock  at  the  close  of 
1887,  the  Jubilee  year,  and  when  this  finishing  touch  was 
given,  the  summit  of  the  tower  stood  176  feet  above  the  sea- 
level — a  lonely  beacon-star  for  the  guiding  and  warning  of 
many  a  vessel  in  years  to  come. 

On  the  day  of  our  visit,  however,  all  was  very  quiet. 
"VYe   invested    in   some    curious    very   coarse    red    pottery. 


THE    SOUTHERNMOST    KNOWN    LAND.  201 

peculiar  to  this  place,  some  specimens  representing  hideous 
animals.  Having  inspected  the  fort  built  by  the  Dutch 
when  they  had  succeeded  in  driving  out  the  Portuguese,  we 
next  strolled  to  the  shore,  a  succession  of  lovely  bays  clothed 
to  the  water's  edge  with  luxuriant  palms  and  strange  screw- 
pines.  I  selected  as  my  sketching-ground  a  very  striking 
pile  of  shapeless  ruins,  literally  rising  from  the  waves. 
They  are  apparently  those  of  a  smaller  temple,  but  now  are 
merely  a  heap  of  tumbled  stones  and  pillars  sculptured  in 
alternate  square  and  octagonal  sections. 

The  scene  gained  additional  interest  from  the  fact  that 
this  headland  is  tlie  southernmost  land  of  which  we  know 
anything — not  even  a  little  coral  islet  is  known  to  lie 
between  this  and  the  South  Pole. 

Presently  my  companions  summoned  me  to  breakfast  in 
a  cosy  bungalow  which  had  been  decorated  in  our  honour 
with  palm-leaves  and  cocoa-nuts.  We  were  glad  to  rest  in 
its  cool  shade  till  the  noonday  heat  was  over,  and  then 
returned  to  the  lonely  ruins  on  the  shore,  where  we  lingered 
till  they  and  the  feathery  palms  alike  showed  "  dark  against 
day's  golden  death,"  when  we  started  on  our  beautiful  home- 
ward drive  in  the  mellow  moonlight. 

Those  now  wave-washed  ruins  of  the  ancient  temple  are 
suggestive  of  the  ceaseless  battles  between  land  and  water, 
in  which  Ocean  has  won  so  many  victories. 

There  seems  little  doubt  that  in  early  days  this  beautiful 
island  was  of  far  larger  extent  than  it  now  is,  and  that  by 
a  series  of  encroachments  of  the  sea  it  has  been  gradually 
reduced.  Native  traditions  tell  how  it  was  originally  5120 
miles  in  circumference,  and  how,  by  a  terrible  judgment 
of  Heaven,  it  was  reduced  to  less  than  3000.  According 
to  the  legendary  records  of  the  Pvamayana,   this  calamity 


202  SOUTHERN    COAST. 

occurred  soon  after  the  death  of  Havana,  B.C.  2387,  a  date 
which  curiously  approximates  to  tliat  generally  received  as 
the  year  of  the  Deluge.  It  is  also  singular  that  this  measure- 
ment should  so  nearly  coincide  with  that  recorded  by  Pliny 
as  having  been  taken  B.C.  200.  The  sea,  however,  not  con- 
tent with  having  swallowing  up  half  the  island,  still  crept 
onward,  and  the  native  annals  tell  how,  year  by  year,  fresh 
lands  were  submerged,  till  there  remained  only  the  com- 
paratively small  extent  we  now  see,  measuring  about  800 
miles  in  circumference. 

A  multitude  of  lesser  islands  are  also  said  to  have  dis- 
appeared. Probably  they  lay  between  Ceylon  and  the  Mal- 
dive  and  Lakadive  islands,  and,  forming  one  great  kingdom, 
may  have  given  to  Ceylon  the  name,  by  which  it  was  an- 
ciently known,  of  Lanka  or  Laka-diva,  "  the  ten  thousand 
islands."  Certain  it  is  that,  at  the  longitude  assigned  by 
old  records  to  the  great  city  of  Sri-Lanka-poora,  the  capital 
of  the  island,  there  is  now  only  a  wide  expanse  of  blue 
waters. 

It  was  in  this  city  that  Eavana,  the  mighty  king  of  the 
isle,  was  besieged  l)y  Rama,  a  warrior  prince  of  Oude,  whose 
beautiful  wife,  Sita,  had  been  carried  off  by  Eavana,  in 
revenge  for  insults  offered  to  his  sister.  This  city  of  palaces 
had  seven  fortified  walls,  and  many  towers  with  battlements 
of  brass.  Moreover,  it  was  surrounded  by  a  great  ditch, 
wherein  flowed  the  salt  waters  of  the  ocean.  Hence  we 
may  infer  that  the  sea  had  not  much  ado  to  encroach  on  so 
confiding  a  city.  The  native  legends  both  of  Ceylon  and 
India  tell  how,  "  'twixt  the  gloamin'  and  the  mirk,"  the 
glittering  light  from  these  brazen  battlements  still  gleams 
from  the  ocean  depths,  and  being  reflected  on  the  dark  sky 
overhead,  causes  the  afterglow. 


CUSTOM    OF    POLYANDRY.  203 

The  Brahmans  declare  that  this  terrible  overflow  of  the 
mighty  waters  was  sent  to  punish  the  impious  Itavana,  who 
had  dared  to  liglit  against  Eama,  the  peerless  king  and 
warrior. 

Further  calamities  befell  the  Isle  about  the  year  B.C.  30G, 
when  much  of  the  west  coast  was  submerged.  Tiiis  was  in 
the  reign  of  King  Devenipiatissa,  who  held  his  court  at 
Ivelany,  a  town  which  stood  seven  leagues  inland  from  the 
point  where  the  liiver  Kelany  then  entered  the  sea.  Ac- 
cording to  tradition,  King  Tissa  had  good  cause  to  suspect 
his  beautiful  queen  of  an  intrigue  with  his  own  brother/ 
who  accordingly  fled  to  Gampola,  whence  he  endeavoured  to 
send  a  message  to  the  queen  written  on  a  neatly  rolled-up 
palm  leaf. 

This  was  conveyed  by  a  messenger  disguised  as  a  priest, 
who  was  to  gain  access  to  the  palace  on  a  day  when  a 
multitude  of  priests  were  to  receive  the  royal  alms.  Hav- 
ing attracted  the  queen's  notice,  the  messenger  dropped  the 

^  In  vieAV  of  the  custom  of  polyandry,  formerly  prevalent  tlirougliout 
tlie  Isle,  Tissa's  jealousy  was  unjustifiable,  as  every  woman  was  entitled 
to  liali'-a-dozen  liusbands,  who,  as  a  maiter  of  preference,  ought  all  to  be 
of  the  same  family — brothers  if  possible.  King  Wijayo  Balm  VII.,  wlio 
was  the  reigning  monarch  at  Cotta,  near  the  Kelany  Eiver,  at  tiie  time 
when  the  Portuguese  built  their  first  fort  at  Colombo,  had  a  wife  in 
common  with  his  brother. 

Polyandry  and  the  murder  of  siiperlluous  female  infants  were  the 
recognised  means  of  checking  the  increase  of  population  among  a  nee 
too  indolent  to  cultivate  more  land  than  was  necessary  for  their  own 
support.  Thanks  to  Portuguese  and  Dutch  influence,  tliese  obnoxious 
customs  were  soon  abandoned  in  the  maritime  provinces,  but  in  the 
mountainous  Central  Province  the  ancient  Kandyan  custom  prevailed 
till  quite  recently,  when  British  marriage-laws  were  framed  with  a  view 
to  bringing  it  into  discredit. 

On  the  similar  custom  of  certain  mountain  tribes  in  Hindostiin,  Sie 
"In  the  Himalayas,"  p.  406,  published  by  Chatlo  &  Windus. 


204  SOUTHERN    COAST. 

letter,  but  ere  she  could  raise  it  the  king  seized  and  read  it. 
In  his  fury  he  declared  that  the  intrigue  thus  yjroven  was 
sanctioned  by  the  high-priest  himself,  who  accordingly  was 
seized  and  thrown  into  a  cauldron  of  boiling  oil,  while  the 
queen  was  pinioned  and  thrown  into  the  river. 

Ere  long  the  innocence  of  the  priest  was  established,  but 
it  was  too  late  to  avert  the  wrath  of  the  gods,  who  caused 
the  sea  to  encroach  on  the  west  coast  of  the  Isle  so  rapidly, 
that  the  unhappy  king  strove  to  avert  the  terrible  punish- 
ment from  his  people  by  the  sacrifice  of  his  own  beautiful 
virgin  daughter,  Sudha-D^wi,  whom  he  secured  in  a  covered 
canoe  overlaid  with  pure  gold,  and  having  inscribed  this 
ark  with  the  title  "A  Eoyal  Maiden,"  he  launched  it  on 
the  rajrinfT  waters. 

O        O 

The  spirits  of  air  and  water  protected  the  maiden  thus 
committed  to  their  care,  and  landed  her  safely  on  a  distant 
shore  at  Totalu  Ferry,  where  the  ark  was  found  by  some 
fishermen.  The  prince  of  the  land,  Ka-wan-tissa  Rajah, 
was  so  fascinated  by  the  beauty  of  the  damsel,  that  he 
married  her,  and  changed  her  name  to  Wihari-Dewi.  It 
was  her  son,  Dootoogaimoonoo,  who  afterwards  expelled  the 
Malabars  and  restored  the  supremacy  of  the  Singhalese. 

But  King  Tissa's  sacrifice  proved  of  no  avail,  for  the  en- 
croaching waters  never  stayed  their  advance  till  they  had 
swallowed  up  640  nourishing  villages  and  permanently  sub- 
merged a  strip  of  country  extending  twenty  miles  inland, 
and  including  some  of  the  richest  arable  land.  According 
to  the  Ilajavali,  no  less  than  100,000  large  towns  and  1370 
fishers'  villages  were  then  destroyed. 

That  this  calamity  was  due  to  volcanic  agency  seems 
evident,  for  the  tradition  further  records,  that  when  the  king 
himself  went  on  his  elephant  to  watch  the  progress  of  the 


ENCHOACHMENT.S    OF    THE   SEA.  205 

raging-  waters,  the  earth  opened  and  vomited  llames  whicli 
swallowed  him  up,  and  he  was  no  more  seen. 

Of  the  encroachments  of  the  sea  on  the  coast  of  Coro- 
mandel  and  other  parts  of  Southern  India,  we  have  visible 
proof  in  the  fact  of  its  having  stayed  half-way  in  act  of  wash- 
ing away  at  least  one  old  city  which  now  lies  half  beneath 
the  waves. ^  These  have  encroached  to  the  very  doors  of  the 
great  temples,  but  sculptures  and  pillars  still  jutting  up 
from  the  waters  sugi::est  how  much  of  the  old  city  has  been 
altogether  submerged.  Some  of  the  aged  natives  of  the  last 
generation  remembered  how  in  their  youth,  while  sailing  far 
out  at  sea,  they  could  distinguish  the  forms  of  temples  and 
other  buildings  lying  deep  beneath  the  waves.  Some  of 
these  had  cupolas  of  copper-gilt,  which  glittered  in  the 
early  sunlight,  but  had  gradually  ceased  to  do  so,  and  now 
the  fishes  vainly  peer  into  those  clear  depths — the  city  is  no 
longer  visible.  They  suppose  that  the  copper  has  corroded 
or  that  the  foundations  have  given  way. 

To  return  to  our  peaceful  modern  life  at  Matara  on  the 
brink  of  the  broad  beautiful  river.  In  such  surroundings, 
rendered  yet  more  attractive  by  the  kindness  of  many  friends, 
a  fortnight  slipped  quickly  by,  when  we  started  in  force,  a 
whole  family  party,  great  and  small,  to  visit  a  liospitable 
Scotsman,  the  District  Judge  at  Tangalle,  a  pretty  little  sea- 
side town  about  twenty  miles  farther  east.  Once  more  we 
followed  the  "  palm  o'er-shadowed  way  "  along  the  shore,  and 
facing  the  sun  as  it  rose  in  glory  from  the  clear  calm  ocean, 
which  shone  like  a  dazzling  mirror,  so  that  we  were  glad  to 
rest  our  eyes  by  gazing  into  the  shady  groves  to  catch  pretty 
glimpses  of  home-life  in  the  native  huts. 

We  met  many  native  vehicles,  always  driven  by  pictur- 

^  ilaliabali-poor  or  Mavalipuvam. 


2UG  SOUTHERN   COAST. 

esque  people,  and  drawn  by  handsome  oxen,  white  or  brown, 
drawing  their  heavy  loads  simply  l)y  the  pressure  of  the 
yoke  on  their  much-enduring  liump. 

Presently  (happily  when  we  were  near  a  rest-house)  the 
tyre  came  off  one  of  our  wheels,  so  we  had  to  halt  some 
hours  for  necessary  repairs,  and  amused  ourselves  by  watch- 
ing the  fishermen  drawing  their  large  seine-nets,  several 
canoes  uniting  their  forces  to  draw  one  net  on  shore.  They 
work  all  through  the  burning  midday  hours  to  an  accom- 
paniment of  melancholy  song,  sometimes  indeed  pathetic, 
at  others  wild,  but  never  very  musical.  As  we  rested 
beneath  the  cool  shade  of  a  great  banyan-tree,  kind  natives 
brought  us  a  gift  of  ripe  plantains  and  a  great  bowl  of  deli- 
cious creamy  buffalo-milk,  a  dainty  generally  shunned  by 
Europeans,  on  the  ground  that  buffaloes  are  not  strict  vege- 
tarians. 

When  the  glare  and  heat  drove  us  to  seek  shelter  in  the 
rest-house,  we  consoled  ourselves  by  watching  the  antics  of 
many  small  squirrels  who  scampered  fearlessly  about  the  ver- 
andah— pretty  little  creatures,  dark-grey,  with  three  white 
stripes  down  the  back. 

Indoors,  the  spiders  and  darling  little  lizards,  "  Geckoes,"  ^ 
reigned  unmolested — the  former  splendid  specimens  of  a 
large  dark-coloured  hairy  spider,  with  ten  thick  hairy  legs. 
To  the  unaccustomed  eye  they  are  hideous  and  alarming, 
but  they  really  are  very  useful,  as  they  wage  war  on  cock- 
roaches and  such-like  unwelcome  intruders.  They  have  the 
oddest  way  of  periodically  shedding  their  whole  skin.  As 
the  creature  grows,  its  skin  fails  to  expand,  so  it  splits  down 
the  back,  and  then  the  spider  shakes  off  this  outgrown  over- 
coat and  steps  out  in  all  the  glory  of  a  new  skin,  leaving 

^  Flati/duct>/lus. 


VARIOUS    SPIDERS.  207 

the  old  one  perfect  (but  for  the  one  long  split),  and  for  the 
moment  the  spider  and  the  empty  case  look  like  twins. 

One  enormous  spider,  the  MygaU  fasciata,  sometimes  mis- 
called a  tarantula,  is  not  content  with  such  small  game  as 
cockroaches,  hut  occasionally  devotes  its  enerL'ies  to  ensnar- 
ing lizards.  It  has  even  been  accused  of  capturing  tiny 
birds,  but  this  charge  is  not  proven.  It  is  a  very  unpleasant- 
looking  creature,  its  body  and  legs  being  covered  with  long 
dark-brown  hair,  and  it  is  so  large  that  when  its  legs  are 
extended  a  full-grown  specimen  will  cover  a  circle  of  about 
eight  inches  in  diameter. 

Instead  of  weaving  a  web  after  the  manner  of  spiders 
in  general,  this  curious  creature  builds  for  itself  a  sort  of 
tubular  nest,  generally  in  the  crevice  of  some  old  wall  or 
gravelly  bank,  and  for  this  it  spins  a  waterproof  lining  of 
the  very  finest  silk,  and  furthermore  constructs  a  most  inge- 
nious door,  which  opens  and  shuts  on  hinges,  and  which  it 
can  close  from  within  and  successfully  exclude  unwelcome 
intruders.^ 

But  of  all  the  spiders  (and  they  are  very  numerous  and 
varied),  none  struck  me  as  more  curious  than  a  family  with 
tiny  bodies  and  ridiculously  long  black  legs,  so  slender  as 
literally  to  resemble  coarse  hairs.  I  have  seen  these  in 
some  very  neglected  rest-houses,  and  sometimes  on  gravelly 
banks  in  the  hills,  in  such  multitudes  that  the  wall  or  bank 
seemed  to  quiver  with  the  tremulous  movement  of  these 
little  bunches  of  black  hair.  One  long-legged  house-spider 
always  reminded  me  of  the  old  woman  who  lived  in  a  shoe, 
because  of  its  innumerable  family  of  the  tiniest  perfect  little 
spiders,  which  it  carries  about  with  it  in  a  cocoon  supported 

^  See  nest  of  the  Californian  tarantula,  in  "Granite  Crags  of  California," 
p.  320,  by  C,  F,  Gordon  Cunimiiig. 


208  SOUTHERN    COAST. 

under  its  legs.  When  frightened,  it  drops  tliis  little  silky- 
cradle,  and  out  scamper  a  regiment  of  most  active  little 
creatures.  I  used  always  to  wonder  whether  the  family 
was  ever  reassembled,  especially  as  destructive  human  beings 
so  often  with  one  rough  touch  rend  the  dainty  nest  woven 
with  such  skill. 

The  lizards,  of  which  there  are  several  varieties,  green, 
<Trey,  or  chocolate-coloured,  spotted  or  streaked,  and  ranging 
from  four  to  seven  inches  in  length,  are  very  abundant  on 
the  sea-coast,  and  every  house  has  its  own  colony  of  these 
pretty  little  harmless  creatures,  which  suddenly  peep  out  from 
some  unexpected  corner,  chirping  their  little  note  like 
"  Cheeka  !  cheeka  !  "  On  their  feet  are  small  suckers,  which 
enable  them  to  walk  inverted  like  flies  as  they  scamper 
about  on  the  canvas  ceilings  in  pursuit  of  insects.  Occa- 
sionally they  get  on  to  a  loose  rag  of  canvas  or  a  flake  of 
whitewash,  and  fall  violently  to  the  ground  or  on  to  the 
table,  and,  like  Bo-Peep's  sheep,  leave  their  tails  behind 
them,  wriggling  independently,  while  the  proprietor  takes 
himself  off  as  fast  as  he  can. 

In  the  crevices  of  the  walls  they  lay  fascinating  little 
white  eggs  like  sugar-plums,  and  from  these,  when  hatched 
by  the  sun,  come  forth  most  minute  perfect  lizards,  who  at 
once  scamper  off  in  search  of  food. 

Some  of  these  seaside  places  are  occasionally  haunted  by 
musk-rats  (alias  shrews),  which  utter  shrill  little  cries  while 
diligently  hunting  for  insects,  especially  for  crickets,  which 
are  their  special  weakness ;  but  they  are  an  intolerable 
nuisance,  as  they  taint  everything  they  touch. 

By  the  time  a  blacksmith  had  been  found  and  our  repairs 
complete,  a  furious  rain-storm  had  set  in,  which  never 
abated  all  the  afternoon ;  so  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to 


TANGALLE.  200 

face  it ;  but  right  glad  we  were  when  we  reached  our 
journey's  end,  and  were  hospitably  received  and  dried. 
Then  followed  a  wild  wet  night,  and  the  rickety  Venetians 
rattled  and  shook  with  every  gust  of  rushing  wind ;  but 
loud  above  all  minor  voices  of  the  storm  resounded  the  roar 
of  the  mighty  waves  as  they  thundered  on  the  shore ;  for  at 
Tangalle,  unlike  most  of  the  harbours  of  Ceylon,  there  is 
no  bar  to  check  their  landward  rush. 

As  if  to  atone  for  this  night  of  passion,  the  days  that 
followed  were  each  enchanting.  I  awoke  to  find  myself  in 
a  comfortable  old  bungalow,  with  wide-pillared  verandah 
and  red-tiled  roof,  delightfully  situated  beneath  the  cool 
shade  of  large  trees  on  the  very  brink  of  the  sea,  from 
which  the  glorious  sun  was  just  rising 

"In  one  unclouded  blaze  of  living  light." 

The  charms  of  that  shore,  with  the  quaintly-built  canoes, 
with  great  outriggers  and  nets  hung  up  to  dry,  and  the  pic- 
turesque groups  of  brown  figures  (fisher-folk,  and  women 
carrying  red  water-jars  on  their  heads  and  children  astride 
on  one  hip),  to  say  nothing  of  the  always  irresistible  attrac- 
tion of  shell-strewn  sands,  held  me  captive  for  some  days. 
There  was  such  a  sense  of  peace  in  finding  a  cosy  resting- 
place  at  the  foot  of  some  dark  tree,  whose  great  boughs 
extended  right  over  the  sands,  and  almost  dipped  into  the 
now  gently  rippling  wavelets. 

About  fifteen  miles  inland  from  Tangalle  lies  the  celebrated 
old  Buddhist  monastery  and  rock-temple  of  Mulgirigalla, 
where,  to  my  great  delight,  I  found  that  our  kind  host  had 
made  all  arrangements  for  our  reception.  A  beautiful  drive 
brought  us  to  the  Goagalla  or  Iguana  Rock,  whence  we 
obtained  a  splendid  view  of  the  sacred  crag,  a  huge  square 

VOL.  II.  0 


210  SOUTHERN    COAST. 

red  rock,  towering  to  a  height  of  350  feet  from  the  brink 
of  a  dark-bhie  lakelet,  which  gleamed  like  a  sapphire  in 
its  setting  of  luxuriant  tropical  foliage.  The  flat  summit  is 
crowned  by  a  great  white  dagoba  of  the  usual  dome-shape, 
containing  a  precious  relic  of  some  early  Buddhist  saint  or 
hero.  Somewhat  lower,  conspicuously  placed  on  the  face 
of  the  crag,  are  the  red-tiled  monastic  buildings,  nestling 
among  fragrant  flowering  shrubs. 

The  mighty  crag  is  perpendicular  on  three  sides,  but  on 
the  fourth  the  ascent  is  easy,  flights  of  steps  being  hewn 
at  the  steepest  parts.  AVhere  the  carriage-drive  ended  we 
found  chairs  with  bearers  waiting  to  carry  us  up  to  the 
monastery,  where  we  were  most  courteously  received  by 
the  high-priest  and  sundry  monks,  who  escorted  us  to  the 
famous  temples.  These  are  simply  a  series  of  overhang- 
ing rock-ledges,  partially  built  up  so  as  to  form  artificial 
caves,  decorated  in  colour  in  the  same  style  as  those  at  Dam- 
bulla,  but  on  a  much  smaller  scale.  "Within  these  are  co- 
lossal images  of  Buddha,  one  of  which,  a  huge  recumbent 
figure,  resting  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  dark  maroon- 
coloured  rock,  and  shaded  by  the  light  foliage  of  a  sacred 
peepul-tree,  formed  a  very  impressive  foreground  to  a  blue 
distance  of  endless  forests  extending  to  the  far-away 
ocean. 

Mulgirigalla  has  been  held  in  veneration  from  the  ear- 
liest ages  of  Buddhism.  In  Singhalese  chronicles  of  B.C.  137 
it  was  referred  to  as  being  already  a  very  sacred  shrine, 
and  throughout  the  twenty  centuries  that  have  glided  away 
since  then,  with  all  their  manifold  changes,  the  praises  of 
Buddha  have  been  ceaselessly  sung  by  the  yellow-robed 
brethren  of  this  rock-monastery. 

Comfortable  quarters  having  been  assigned  to  us  for  the 


ROCK    MONASTERY    OF    MULGIRIGALLA.  211 

night,  we  were  able  to  wander  about  at  leisure,  enjoying 
each  picturesque  combination  of  dark  rocks,  red-tiled  build- 
ings, brown  priests  robed  in  yellow,  and  wonderfully  varied 
foliage,  all  in  vivid  light  and  shadow.  One  quiet  corner 
especially  attracted  me,  where,  among  the  great  rock-boulders 
and  overshadowed  by  fragrant  temple-trees,  daturas,  plan- 
tains, kitool,  areca,  and  other  palms,  are  the  fine  old  tombs 
containing  the  ashes  of  cremated  high-priests  who  have 
lived  and  died  in  this  peaceful  spot — 

"  The  -world  forgetting, 
By  the  world  forgot." 

Overhead  a  troop  of  merry  monkeys  were  at  play  in  a 
dark  jak-tree,  laden  with  enormous  fruit  hanging  from  the 
branches  and  trunk.  In  short,  there  was  much  to  tempt 
the  pencil  at  every  turn.  The  view  from  the  summit  is 
magnificent,  either  looking  southward  over  the  Hambantota 
district  to  the  blue  ocean,  or  inland  to  the  mountain  ranges 
of  Kataragama  and  Uva,  while  in  the  far  distance  beyond 
the  high  table-land  of  the  Horton  Plains  towers  Adam's 
Peak,  the  holy  of  holies.  AVe  rejoiced  in  all  this  beauty 
as  seen  in  the  changing  lights  of  sunset,  followed  by  the 
quiet  starlight,  and  then  again  in  the  stillness  of  tlie 
dawn,  and  realised  how  calmly  life  might  glide  on  in  sucli 
an  eyrie.  Nevertheless  certain  broken  palm-trees  snapped 
in  two  suggested  how  fiercely  the  winds  must  often  rave 
around  this  lofty  crag. 

Following  the  seaboard  eastward  from  Tangalla  to  Ham- 
bantota, a  distance  of  about  twenty-five  miles,  the  whole 
character  of  the  scenery  changes.  Lu.xuriant  vegetation  is 
replaced  by  a  mere  sprinkling  of  parched  scrub  and  scanty 
grass  on  a  dead  flat  expanse  of  \vhite  sand,  which  seems  to 


212  SOUTHERN   COAST. 

dance  in  the  quivering  mirage  produced  by  the  intense  heat 
of  the  "larinfT  sun. 

Here  and  there,  on  rocky  islands  or  on  the  shore,  a  few 
isolated  palms  seem  as  if  they  had  been  banished  from  the 
company  of  their  fellows,  to  dwell  among  thorny  wild  date- 
palms,  fantastic  screw-pines,  with  their  strange  stilt-like 
roots,  their  forked  cylindrical  trunks,  and  quaint  whorls  of 
drooping  spiral  leaves,  for  ever  rustling  and  swaying  with 
every  breath  of  air,  and  grotesque  euphorbias  like  gigantic 
candelabra,  the  ghostliest  of  all  plants  when  seen  in  the 
moonlight,  or  dark  against  a  red  sunset  sky. 

The  most  characteristic  feature  of  the  district  is  the  chain 
of  shallow  lagoons,  which  furnish  about  one-fifth  of  the  salt 
supply  of  the  island.  There  are  about  half-a-dozen  of  these 
lakes,  separated  from  the  sea  by  a  high  sandbank  clothed 
with  thorny  impenetrable  jungle.  Some  are  several  miles 
in  circumference.  Their  waters  are  a  solution  of  the  saltest 
brine,  which  precipitates  and  crystallises  at  the  bottom  and 
round  the  edges,  so  that  when  seen  from  any  height,  these 
blue  lakes  seem  to  be  edged  with  dazzling  white  surf. 

Beneath  the  blazing  summer  sun  evaporation  is  so  rapid 
that  the  lakes  partially  dry  up,  leaving  a  beach  of  the 
purest  white  salt  six  or  eight  inches  in  depth,  the  bed  of 
the  lake  being  equally  coated.  Salt  being  (as  I  mentioned 
when  describing  the  artificial  saltpans  at  Puttalam)  a  Gov- 
ernment monopoly  and  a  considerable  source  of  revenue,  the 
lakes  are  guarded  by  watchers,  so  that  no  man  may  help  him- 
self to  this  necessary  of  life. 

So  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year  these  shallow  lagoons 
are  utterly  undisturbed,  and  afford  sanctuary  to  innumer- 
able birds  and  other  shy  creatures.  Great  mobs  of  snowy 
pelicans   and   groups    of  delicately   rosy   flamingoes   stand 


THE    SALT    HARVEST.  213 

reflected  in  the  still  waters,  the  latter  changing  to  crimson 
as  they  rise  and  display  their  brilliant  under- wings.  Many 
crocodiles  bask  on  the  shores.  These  are  of  a  peculiarly 
harmless  kind,  and,  strange  to  say,  they  are  never  known  to 
have  attacked  any  of  the  salt-collectors  who  so  audaciously 
invade  their  quiet  retreat. 

Whether  the  stagnation  of  life  in  such  still  waters  has  a 
soothing  effect  on  their  inhabitants,  I  cannot  say,  but  it  is 
a  well-authenticated  fact  that  the  crocodiles  which  live  in 
the  lakes  and  tanks  of  Ceylon  are  by  no  means  so  dangerous 
as  those  which  haunt  the  rivers,  the  latter  being  a  source 
of  constant  dread  to  the  natives,  as  are  also  the  sharks, 
which  occasionally  venture  some  way  up  the  broad  mouth 
of  the  rivers  in  pursuit  of  fish,  and  render  bathing  exceed- 
ingly dangerous.  The  Singhalese,  however,  assert  that 
sharks  only  attack  human  beings  at  certain  times,  so  that 
when  man  is  not  in  season  they  bathe  with  confidence. 
When  possible,  however,  they  hire  a  charmer  to  recite  in- 
cantations, which  are  supposed  to  render  the  brutes  harm- 
less ;  such  services  are  specially  sought  by  the  divers,  whose 
work  leads  them  right  into  Shark-land. 

The  salt  harvest  is  generally  gathered  in  the  month  of 
August,  but  the  exact  time  depends  on  the  weather,  for  it 
is  a  precarious  crop ;  and  whereas  in  a  very  dry  season  the 
amount  collected  and  safely  stored  may  be  very  large, 
unseasonable  rains  may  melt  it  all  away  aud  leave  a  very 
poor  return — in  some  cases  even  none.  Thus  in  the  North 
Province,  in  1876,  the  salt  harvest  yielded  151,718  cwts. 
In  the  following  year  there  was  absolutely  none,  and  in  the 
year  after,  only  11,772  cwts.  So  in  this  Southern  Province, 
in  1878,  the  salt  crop  proved  a  total  failure,  whereas  two 
years  later,  136,757  cwts.  were  safely  gathered. 


214  SOUTHERN   COAST. 

The  method  of  collecting  is  first  to  gather  the  deposit  on 
the  shore,  and  then,  by  wading  into  the  lakes,  collect  that 
whicli  has  formed  under  water — a  method  grievous  to  those 
employed,  as,  after  a  few  days'  work,  the  intense  salt  of  the 
water  excoriates  the  feet  and  legs,  causing  severe  pain. 
Much  of  this  work  is  done  by  the  convicts  from  the  Ham- 
bantota  jail.  The  salt  thus  obtained  is  brought  ashore  in 
baskets,  and  built  up  into  great  piles,  which  are  protected 
from  rain  by  a  thick  thatch  of  cocoa-palm  leaves  till  the  salt 
can  be  carted  away  to  the  Government  storehouses,  whence, 
after  the  lapse  of  three  or  four  months,  it  is  sold  to  mer- 
chants, who  supply  the  retail  dealers,  the  Government  profit 
on  the  transaction  being  about  900  per  cent,  on  the  outlay. 

So  rigidly  has  the  price  of  salt  been  maintained,  that 
for  such  purposes  as  manuring  the  land,  preserving  hides, 
and  fish-curing  it  was  for  long  altogether  prohibitive, 
and  it  is  only  quite  recently  that  fish-curing  grounds  have 
been  established  at  Hambantota,  where,  under  strict  Govern- 
ment supervision,  salt  is  supplied  at  a  nominal  price  to  en- 
courage a  native  trade  in  dried  salted  fish,  which  hitherto 
has  been  imported  from  the  Maldive  Islands  or  the  coast  of 
India  to  an  annual  value  of  about  900,000  rupees. 

The  scenery  around  Hambantota,  though  not  without  inte- 
rest, is  certainly  not  attractive.  The  Government  Agent's 
house  and  court  stand  on  a  hot  bare  hill,  looking  on  the  one 
hand  to  a  long  ridge  of  red  drifting  sandhills  and  scrubby 
jungle,  on  the  other  to  the  heavy  breakers  thundering  on 
the  white  beach.  On  a  rocky  promontory  stands  a  fortified 
tower,  which  overlooks  the  anchorage  where  lie  the  small 
vessels  which  come  to  ship  the  salt  from  the  salt-water 
lakes.  From  this  tower  you  can  overlook  the  sandy  world 
around,  in  strong  contrast  with  the  vivid  blues  of  sea,  sky. 


ANCIENT   CITY    OF    MAHAGAM.  215 

distant  mountains,  and  salt  lakes,  the  latter  edged  with  a 
glittering  crust  of  white,  and  all  set  in  a  dark  framework  of 
sombre  jungle.  But  except  in  the  early  morning,  or  late 
afternoon,  the  heat  is  grilling. 

About  fifteen  miles  farther  along  the  sea-coast  is  the  site 
of  the  ancient  city  of  Mahagam,  or,  as  it  is  now  called, 
Magama,  at  the  mouth  of  a  river  of  the  same  name.  Twenty- 
two  centuries  ago  it  was  a  flourishing  and  important  centre 
of  busy  life,  of  which  all  trace  has  disappeared,  and  the 
ruins  which  alone  remain  to  mark  its  vanished  glory  are  in 
the  same  style  as  those  of  Anuradhapura  and  Pollanarua, 
namely,  cyclopean  dagobas,  masses  of  fallen  and  crumbling 
brickwork,  lines  of  erect  monoliths,  once  the  supports  of 
temple  and  palaces,  sculptured  pillars,  blocks  of  granite, 
and  great  flights  of  steps,  once  the  thronged  approach  to 
stately  portals,  now  all  overgrown  with  prickly  cactus  and 
thorny  jungle. 

Por  the  great  tanks  (or  rather  artificial  lakes)  constructed 
by  the  builders  of  IMagama  for  the  irrigation  of  the  land  have 
for  centuries  been  left  to  go  to  ruin,  the  whole  district,  once 
so  densely  peopled  and  so  carefully  cultivated,  has  long  lain 
desolate,  and  the  arid  jungle,  extending  from  the  sea  to  the 
foot  of  the  Madulsima  and  Haputale  ranges,  is  the  sports- 
man's and  naturalist's  happiest  hunting-ground — a  vast  un- 
broken forest  some  sixty  miles  in  width,  where  the  wild 
creatures,  scared  from  their  former  haunts  by  the  advance 
of  ever-encroaching  planters,  still  find  a  comparatively  un- 
disturbed sanctuary. 

This  is  especially  true  of  elephants,  against  whom  the 
necessary  war  was  for  many  years  waged  so  vigorously,  botii 
by  European  sportsmen  and  by  Moormen,  that  at  length 
there  seemed  a  danger  of  their  extermination.     But  though 


216  SOUTHERN    COAST. 

]>ad  masters,  they  are  far  too  good  as  servants  to  be  given 
over  to  destruction.  A  close  season  was  therefore  instituted, 
and  it  was  declared  illegal  to  shoot  an  elephant  without  a 
Government  license,  costing  ten  rupees  for  each  animal 
slain — a  proviso  which  has  proved  sorely  trying  to  sports- 
men who  have  had  exceptional  luck  in  falling  in  unex- 
pectedly with  elephants,  and  whose  license  perhaps  allowed 
them  to  shoot  one  only. 

Thus  protected,  these  giants  of  the  forest  soon  increased, 
and  are  now  said  to  be  as  numerous  as  ever,  though  they 
have  retired  to  the  most  unfrequented  regions,  seeking  con- 
cealment in  the  dense  and  frequently  malarious  jungles 
which  clothe  the  eastern  side  of  the  Isle.  They  now  abound 
in  the  South-Eastern  Province  from  Hanbantota  as  far 
eastward  as  the  Kombookgam  River  (now  called  Ivumuk- 
kan  Aru),  and  range  inland  to  the  forests  at  the  base  of  the 
IJva  hills  near  Badulla,  whence  they  wander  at  will  over  all 
the  low  country  extending  to  Batticaloa. 

The  largest  elephants,  however,  are  said  to  haunt  the 
forests  of  Tamankaduwa  around  Lake  Minery  and  the  ruins 
of  Pollanarua,  and  also  those  to  the  north  of  Trincomalee. 
Great  herds  also  find  covert  in  the  desolate  region  to  the 
north  of  Manaar,  in  the  extreme  north  of  the  Isle,  and  in 
the  vast  fever-haunted  jungles  of  the  "Wannie — a  term 
which  describes  an  area  of  about  14,000  square  miles. 

The  Southern  Province  is,  however,  the  most  popular 
with  sportsmen,  and  the  country  about  the  Nipple  Hills  to 
the  north  of  Tissamaharama  and  between  the  Kumukkan 
Aru  and  the  Kataragama-Ganga  is  now  considered  to  be  the 
finest  district  in  Ceylon  for  sport,  so  numerous  are  all  manner 
of  large  game,  including  buffalo,  which,  like  the  elephant, 
are  now  protected,  and  may  not  be  shot  without  a  license. 


A  sportsman's  paeadise.  217 

In  many  districts,  however,  they  have  been  so  decimated 
by  disease  as  to  be  now  comparatively  scarce.  The  wild 
buffalo  of  Ceylon  has  small  horns  as  compared  with  that 
of  India,  but  he  is  a  very  dangerous  and  resolute  antagonist. 
Even  the  domestic  buffalo  of  the  Isle  is  generally  vicious  ; 
very  different  from  the  meek  animal  wliich  in  China  is 
generally  ridden  by  the  smallest  child. 

Deer  of  various  sorts  are  here  abundant — red  deer,  axis 
or  spotted  deer,  and  sambur  (commonly  miscalled  elk),  hog- 
deer,  barking-deer,  and  the  pretty  little  mouse-deer,  which 
sometimes  starts  from  the  grass  almost  under  one's  feet. 
Chetahs  and  leopards,  porcupines,  wild  pigs,  monkeys,  and 
sloths  find  their  paradise  in  that  region,  where  jungle,  open 
plains,  and  lagoons  supply  all  their  need.  Bears  also  are 
numerous  in  the  rocky  jungle  and  in  the  dense  forest,  wher- 
ever white  ants,  wild  honey,  or  fruits  are  to  be  found,  and 
very  dangerous  antagonists  they  often  prove,  especially  from 
their  horrid  habit  of  trying  to  tear  the  face  of  their  assailant. 

Here,  too,  birds  of  radiant  plumage  still  abound ;  large 
flocks  of  gorgeous  pea-fowl,  jungle-fowl,  and  many  varieties 
of  pigeons,  yellow-headed  hoopoes,  crimson-breasted  barbet, 
and  many  another  shy  creature  here  dwell  in  peace,  while 
cormorants,  spoonbills,  ibises,  herons,  and  toucans  congregate 
around  the  lonely  forest  tanks,  their  wild  cries  alone  break- 
ing the  utter  stillness. 

Soon  after  my  return  to  Britain,  I  received  from  Mr.  G. 
W.  R.  Campbell,  Inspector-General  of  Police,  a  description 
of  a  night  journey  across  this  district,  which  gives  some 
idea  of  the  risks  which  may  be  incurred  by  lonely  travellers, 
and  made  me  realise  that  there  may  be  cases  when  it  is  a 
matter  of  congratulation  that  so  few  Ceylon  elephants  own 
tusks.     He  says : — 


218  SOUTHERN   COAST. 

"  After  inspecting  the  jail,  I  left  Hambantota  for  Kos- 
landa,  in  Haputale.  I  was  to  travel  the  first  twenty-eight 
miles  during  the  night  in  a  bullock-cart,  and  next  morning 
drive  my  own  horses  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains.  The 
road  lay  almost  all  the  way  through  dense  forest  scrub 
infested  with  elephants  and  other  wild  animals.  I  was 
informed  that  the  elephants,  not  content  with  pulling  up 
the  milestones,  sometimes  attacked  carts,  so  I  deemed  it 
prudent  to  desire  that  an  armed  constable  should  escort 
my  cart,  which  was  a  high  heavy  covered  spring-cart  on 
two  wheels.  It  was  about  7  feet  3  inches  in  length,  and 
when  my  cushions  were  laid  along  it,  made  a  fair  bed.  It 
was  drawn  by  a  pair  of  bullocks,  and  three  other  pairs 
were  stationed  along  the  road  in  advance. 

"About  midnight  I  fell  asleep,  and  being  thoroughly 
tired,  I  was  quite  unconscious  when  we  halted  to  change 
the  bullocks  and  escort. 

"  Between  two  and  three  in  the  morning  the  cart  was 
running  merrily  along  the  white  road  in  the  bright  moon- 
liglit,  the  constable  following,  when  a  large  elephant  rushed 
out  from  the  jungle  to  the  right,  and  with  his  trunk  struck 
the  cart  a  heavy  blow  on  the  top,  trumpeting  furiously. 

"  On  his  approach  the  terrified  constable  took  to  his 
heels  and  fled  back  along  the  road  by  which  we  had  come, 
but  the  driver,  uttering  loud  cries,  partly  of  fear  and  partly 
in  the  hope  of  driving  the  beast  off,  ran  by  the  pole  urging 
his  bullocks  to  their  best  speed,  the  elephant  following. 

"  Just  then  I  awoke,  and  for  a  moment  imagined  that 
the  darkness  and  the  screaming  and  swaying  of  the  cart 
were  caused  by  the  bullocks  having  gone  off  the  road  and 
down  some  embankment  into  the  jungle,  but  in  another 
moment  I  saw  that  the  darkness  was  caused  by  the  head 


A    MIDNIGHT   ADVENTURE.  219 

of  an  elephant  blocking  up  the  back  of  the  cart,  and  that 
he  was  bumping  the  hood  upwards  with  bis  forehead. 

"Fearing  that  the  whole  thing  would  go  over,  or  that 
he  would  seize  me,  I  instantly  twisted  myself  round,  and 
got  out  beside  the  driver,  intending  to  run  as  he  was  doing 
by  the  side  of  the  pole ;  but  I  missed  my  footing,  and  came 
to  the  ground  so  awkwardly  that  the  cart,  which  was  going 
very  fast,  knocked  me  down,  and  the  off- wheel  immediately 
passed  over  me. 

"  Instantly,  fearing  lest  the  elephant  should  also  pass 
over  and  crush  me,  I  scrambled  into  the  grass,  though  with 
difficulty,  owing  to  pain  in  my  legs.  The  cart  had  dis- 
appeared, and  there,  about  fifteen  paces  off,  facing  me, 
stood  the  elephant  in  the  moonlight,  in  the  middle  of  tlie 
white  road,  with  a  halo  of  dust  round  him. 

"  I  stood  quite  still  in  the  shade  of  the  tall  thorny  scrub, 
which  formed  a  high  and  almost  impenetrable  wall  on 
either  side  of  the  road.  I  do  not  know  whether  he  saw 
me  or  not,  but  in  less  than  half  a  minute  he  turned,  and 
standing  across  the  road,  put  up  his  trunk  as  high  as  he 
could  and  repeated  the  horrible  screaming  which  is  called 
trumpeting.  Then  turning  round  quickly,  he  marched  back 
along  the  road  by  which  we  had  come. 

"  I  at  once  went  off  at  a  run  in  the  other  direction, 
feeling  very  stiff  and  sore,  and  about  200  yards  farther  on 
overtook  the  cart,  which  the  driver,  rather  bravely,  I  think, 
had  managed  to  pull  up  within  that  distance.  He  hurried 
me  into  the  cart,  and  we  pushed  along  as  quickly  as  we 
could,  he  shouting  every  half  minute  at  the  top  of  liis 
voice  to  scare  other  wild  animals. 

"  Soon  afterwards  we  came  upon  a  herd  of  seven  or  eight 
huge  wild  buffaloes,  which  would  scarcely  let  us  pass,  and 


220  SOUTHERN    COAST. 

about  a  mile  farther  passed  another  herd,  which  absolutely 
blocked  the  road.  I  tried  to  frighten  them  by  lighting 
matches  and  throwing  them  at  them;  one  lighted  match 
actually  fell  on  a  buffalo's  back. 

"  About  the  twenty-second  mile-post  we  found  our  next 
bullocks,  and  two  men  with  guns,  who  told  us  they  had 
been  visited  by  a  bear  while  waiting  for  us, 

"When,  just  at  daybreak,  we  reached  my  carriage,  my 
knees  were  so  bruised  and  swollen  that  I  could  not  walk, 
nor  even  stand  for  a  moment  without  great  pain.  Never- 
theless I  had  to  drive  myself  twenty-three  miles  farther  to 
Wellawaya  before  I  could  rest.  Arrived  there,  a  touch  of 
jungle-fever  came  on,  so  that  night's  sleep  was  not  much 
better  than  the  previous  one ;  but  at  daybreak  I  started  to 
drive  myself  the  remaining  twenty-six  miles  to  Haldummulla, 
halting  for  some  hours  at  Koslanda  for  an  inspection,  though 
in  such  pain  that  I  was  unable  to  stand  for  more  than  a  few 
seconds  at  a  time."  ^ 

No  wonder  that  the  tappal-runners,  the  rural  postmen  of 
the  isle,  dread  these  lonely  forest  roads,  their  sole  protection 
being  a  bunch  of  small  bells  at  the  end  of  a  long  stick, 
which  they  jingle  as  they  go.  A  flaming  torch  is  generally 
effectual  in  scaring  elephants,  but  in  the  North-Eastern 
Provinces,  in  the  days  of  palanquin-travelling,  the  bearers 

^  The  Inspector-General  of  Police  and  of  all  the  Prisons  in  Ceylon  had  little 
time  to  let  grass  grow  under  his  feet.  I  remember  Mr.  Campbell's  driving 
one  morning,  quite  as  a  matter  of  course,  from  Colombo  to  Negombo,  thence 
starting  on  an  extensive  roulid  of  inspection,  returning  the  same  evening, 
having  driven  upwards  of  seventy-five  miles,  besides  all  his  official  work  at 
each  station.  And  next  morning,  long  before  dawn,  he  was  at  work  in  his 
office,  ready  as  usual  for  another  long  round.  Few  men  in  Britain  would  even 
attempt  to  undertake  such  work  as  here  falls  on  a  few  willing  shoulders  ;  yet 
any  breakdown  in  health  is  invariably  attributed,  not  to  overwork,  but  to 
the  climate  ! 


REGION    OF    DROUGHTS    AND    FLOODS.  221 

used  to  insist  on  being  escorted  by  a  professional  elephant- 
charmer,  who,  whenever  they  approached  a  herd,  warned 
them  off  by  the  mystic  sentence,  "  Oni  am  ari  nari  sariiuj- 
ham  saravayr^'  at  the  sound  of  which  the  boldest  elephants 
turned  tail  and  fled  ! 

This  South-Eastern  Maritime  Province,  though  only 
separated  from  the  western  coast  by  a  mountain  range 
not  5000  feet  in  height,  is  in  every  respect  strangely  diffe- 
rent ;  for  whereas  from  April  till  July  the  west  coast  has 
a  heavy  rainfall,  this  too  sheltered  region  can  only  hope 
for  rain  in  November  and  December ;  so  instead  of  rich 
luxuriant  groves  and  large  timber,  the  prevailing  feature 
is  dry  thorny  scrub,  with  here  and  there  tracts  of  thirsty 
sand,  only  partially  clothed  with  stunted  grass  and  huge 
cactus-like  euphorbias,  with  their  odd  four-sided  stems  and 
fleshy  branches,  growing  to  a  height  of  over  thirty  feet. 

These  scorched  plains  are  subject  to  excessive  drought, 
when  rivers  are  reduced  to  meagre  streams  meandering 
through  an  expanse  of  burning  sand,  and  their  tributaries 
wholly  disappear,  leaving  only  dry  watercourses,  tantalising 
to  thirsty  men  and  beasts.  Then,  when  the  rains  do  set 
in,  they  are  apt  to  fall  in  such  good  earnest  that  the 
country  is  flooded,  and  when  half  dry,  form  deep  unhealthy 
marshes,  sending  up  a  steaming  miasma  productive  of  fever, 
dysentery,  the  scourge  of  the  country,  and  parangi,  that 
dreadful  and  loathsome  complaint  said  to  be  peculiar  to 
Ceylon,  and  greatly  due  to  lack  of  good  food  and  good  water. 

An  immediate  improvement  in  the  condition  of  the 
district  was  looked  for  when,  in  1876,  the  restoration  of 
the  great  tank  Tissamaharama,  six  or  eight  miles  to  the 
north  of  Magama,  was  completed ;  but  from  various  causes, 
chiefly   from   the   scantiness  of   the  population,  who  were 


222  SOUTHERN    COAST. 

to  profit  by  its  water-supply,  it  for  a  while  proved  so 
unrernunerative  (iu  return  for  the  enormous  outlay  on 
its  restoration)  as  to  have  been  deemed  well-nigh  a  failure. 
That,  however,  is  an  impression  which  is  fading  away  before 
the  steadily  increasing  area  of  well-watered  cultivated  land 
which  is  now  yielding  abundant  food  in  the  districts  where 
famine  so  long  reigned. 

By  the  beginning  of  1890  no  less  than  1500  acres  were 
yielding  two  rice  crops  yearly  in  return  for  the  precious 
water  supplied  by  Lake  Tissa,  and  now  Moormen  as  well 
as  Sioghalese  are  coming  from  other  districts  to  compete 
for  these  well-irrigated  lands,  and  it  is  found  necessary  to 
provide  fresh  storage  for  the  ever-increasing  demand  for 
water.  In  short,  there  seems  reason  to  believe  that  in  pro- 
cess of  time  the  whole  country  between  Tissa  and  the  sea 
will  become  one  vast  cultivated  expanse. 

The  tank,  which  is  about  six  miles  in  circumference,  and 
covers  an  area  of  about  3000  acres,  was  made  by  King 
Devenipiatissa,  B.C.  307.  It  lies  on  a  slightly  raised  table- 
land 73  feet  above  the  sea-level,  where  once  stood  a  great 
city,  of  which  there  remain  only  ruins  all  overgrown  by 
dense  forest.  Now  its  rock-temples  and  ruined  palaces 
afford  shelter  only  to  wild  beasts  except  at  midsummer, 
when  the  pilgrims  halt  here  on  their  way  to  Kataragama 
to  worship  at  these  ruined  shrines,  and  for  a  few  days  Tissa 
is  once  again  thronged,  perhaps  by  thousands,  intent  on 
trade  or  devotion,  as  the  case  may  be. 

A  detail  of  some  geological  interest  is  that  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood both  of  Tissa  and  of  Hambantota  there  are  beds 
of  great  extent,  and  many  feet  in  thickness,  composed 
entirely  of  shells.  These  are  dug  out  and  used  instead 
of  gravel  in  repairing  roads.     In  view  of  all  the  traditions 


SHRINE    OF    KATARAGAMA.  223 

of  the  encroachments  of  the  ocean,  we  can  scarcely  suppose 
the  sea  to  have  receded  from  this  particular  coast,  so  the 
theory  of  upheaval  seems  the  more  probable. 

This  theory  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  at  Miripenna, 
just  south  of  Galle,  large  blocks  of  coral  rock  are  excavated 
from  the  soil  fully  a  quarter  of  a  mile  inland  ;  also  in 
the  extreme  north  of  the  isle,  the  Jaffna  peninsula  is  found 
to  rest  entirely  on  a  foundation  of  coral,  which  is  supposed 
to  have  been  upheaved  in  geologically  recent  times. 

Fain  would  I  have  extended  my  travels  twenty  miles 
inland  to  those  blue  hill-ranges  around  the  famous  shrine 
of  Kataragama  (alias  Maha  Sen),  one  of  the  demons  wor- 
shipped by  the  aborigines,  afterwards  identified  with  a 
mighty  Singhalese  king,  and  finally  adopted  by  the  Brahmans, 
who  identify  him  with  Siva.  Contrary,  however,  to  the 
custom  of  the  Sivites,  this  temple  contains  no  image,  only  a 
mysterious  curtain,  before  which  kneel  crowds  of  pilgrims 
from  every  part  of  India,  sometimes  even  high-caste  Brah- 
mans from  remote  Hurdwar  (the  holy  city  near  the  source 
of  the  Ganges,  distant  w-ell-nigh  2000  miles),  who  visit  this 
shrine  seeking  cures  for  divers  diseases,  and  who  present 
silver  models  of  their  various  limbs  as  votive  offerings  to 
Maha  Sen.^ 

'  It  is  curious  to  observe  bow  widespread  is  this  custom  of  hanging 
up  models  of  the  limb  restored  or  for  which  healing  is  craved.  In 
tbe  long-isolated  temples  of  Jajian  I  have  seen  thousands  of  such 
models.  We  know  that  they  were  offered  in  ancient  Greece,  for  the 
British  Museum  possesses  two  votive  bauds  made  of  bronze.  They 
were  also  common  in  Egypt,  generally  entwined  with  figures  of  serpents, 
emblematic  of  recovered  health.  Hands,  arms,  ears,  eyes,  and  other 
members,  modelled  in  terra-cotta  or  carved  in  ivory,  have  V)een  found 
at  Thebes  and  elsewhere,  with  a  thanksgiving  dedication  to  whichever 
deity  received  credit  for  the  cure  effected. 

Most  remarkable  of  all  is  the  fact  that  iu  many  of  these  heatheu 


224  SOUTHERN    COAST. 

The  great  annual  festival  occurs  at  the  hottest  season  of 
the  year,  between  June  and  August,  its  precise  date  being 
regulated  by  some  combination  of  the  full  moon  with  other 
details.  So  vast  are  the  crowds  which  sometimes  flock  to 
this  shrine,  and  so  great  the  consequent  risk  of  outbreaks  of 
cholera,  that  in  1874  it  was  found  necessary  to  enact  a  law 
that  in  seasons  when  sickness  is  prevalent  only  400  pilgrims 
in  all  were  to  be  permitted  to  attend,  i.e.,  100  each  from  the 
Western,  Central,  Eastern,  or  Southern  Provinces,  each  person 
being  provided  with  a  ticket  signed  by  the  Government 
Agent  of  the  Province,  and  being  further  bound  to  travel 
by  specified  routes,  and  to  conform  strictly  to  police  regula- 
tions, arranging  their  journey  so  as  not  to  arrive  at  Katara- 
gama  earlier  than  the  3rd  August  or  to  remain  there  for 
more  than  two  clear  days,  to  include  the  period  of  the  full 
moon.  Any  infringement  of  these  rules  renders  the  offender 
liable  to  a  year's  imprisonment  or  to  a  fine  not  exceeding 
1000  rupees. 

Stringent  as  are  these  regulations,  it  has  sometimes  been 
found  necessary  to  render  them  still  more  so.  Thus  in  June 
1883  upwards  of  10,000  pilgrims  assembled  at  Kataragama, 

offerings  the  hand  is  modelled  with  the  third  and  fourth  fingers  closed, 
while  the  first  and  second  (the  fingers  of  benediction,  as  a  Ritualist 
would  call  them)  are  upraised  in  the  orthodox  attitude  of  ecclesiastical 
benediction.  Hence  we  may  infer  that  not  only  the  presentation  of 
such  ex  votos  at  Roman  Catholic  shrines,  but  also  this  peculiar  priestly 
attitude,  are  directly  borrowed  i'rom  Paganism,  probably  introduced 
into  the  Alexandrian  Church  by  some  Egyptian  convert.  Those  who 
have  travelled  in  Roman  Catholic  countries  can  scarcely  fail  to  recall 
various  churches  (such  as  those  of  San  Publio  in  Malta  or  of  Notre 
Dame  de  la  Garde  at  Marseilles,  where  votive  off'erings  of  every  sort, 
but  chiefly  of  miniature  arms,  legs,  eyes,  and  ears,  modelled  in.  wax 
or  silver,  as  the  case  may  be,  are  hung  up  round  the  altars  of  divers 
saints,  as  thank-offerings  for  cures  attributed  to  their  intercessions. 


A   PICTURESQUE   PILGRIMAGE.  225 

but  in  the  following  year,  when  there  was  fear  of  cholera, 
the  number  was  officially  restricted  to  a  total  of  150  persons, 
namely,  thirty  to  represent  Colombo,  thirty  for  Kandy,  and 
as  many  for  Galle,  Kurunegalla,  and  Batticaloa. 

Before  this  regulation  of  the  pilgrimages  commenced  they 
were  simply  seed-beds  for  the  fostering  and  spread  of  disease. 
Thus  in  the  cholera  outbreak  in  1858,  no  less  than  seventy- 
six  dead  bodies  were  counted  on  the  highroad  between 
Hambautota  and  Tangalla,  and  it  is  certain  that  very  many 
more  must  have  perished  in  the  jungle-paths  and  roadside 
villages. 

The  following  table,  though  not  up  to  date,  shows  how 
the  number  of  pilgrims  varies  from  year  to  year : — 


1872 

1873 

1874 

1875 

1876 

1877 

1878 

1883 

4000 

7000 

1200 

60 

107 

44 

15 

10,000 

For  a  lover  of  the  picturesque  this  pilgrimage  is  specially 
attractive,  the  favourite  camping-ground  being  the  dry  bed 
of  the  broad  Kataragama  Eiver,  which  in  the  summer-time 
is  totally  dried  up,  but  is  overshadowed  by  magnificent  forest 
trees.  In  Oriental  lands  such  a  scene,  with  all  the  groups 
of  very  varied  nationality  clustering  round  their  camp-fires, 
is  always  full  of  incident  and  colour. 

That  river  is  more  commonly  known  as  the  ]\Ianick- 
Ganga  or  "  Eiver  of  Gems,"  from  the  fact  that  its  sandy  bed 
is  composed  of  glittering  atoms  of  quartz  and  mica,  mingled 
with  infinitesimal  fra;^ments  of  rubies,  sapphires,  garnets,  and 
jacinth.  As  the  sunlight  plays  on  the  clear  shallow  water 
flowing  over  this  radiant  bed  of  sparkling  gems,  it  seems 
like  the  enchanted  river  of  some  fairy  tale,  but  so  tiny  are 
the  precious  morsels  that  it  is  exceedingly  rare  to  find  one 
worth  keeping.     The  people  use  this  sand  to  facilitate  the 

VOL.  II.  P 


226  SOUTHERN    COAST. 

labour  of  sawing  through  elephants'  teeth.  Near  Ham- 
bautota  there  are  tracts  of  sand  which  literally  are  com- 
posed of  ruby  dust. 

Certainly  it  is  strange  that  a  gem-loving  people  should 
for  so  many  centuries  have  recognised  that  these  precious 
fragments  were  washed  down  from  some  of  the  higher  rocks, 
and  yet  should  never  have  attempted  any  systematic  search 
for  these  hid  treasures.  Doubtless  now  that  gem-mining  is 
being  taken  up  in  good  earnest,  those  hitherto  inaccessible 
crags  will  be  made  to  yield  many  a  priceless  jewel. 


227 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

RETURN     TO     COLOMBO. 

Bentota — Lilies — Mangroves — Kalutara — Fisher  castes — Ordeal  by 
boiling  oil — Colombo. 

Ox  my  return  journey  from  Matara  to  Colombo  I  proved 
how  comfortable  it  can  be  to  travel  "  in  charge  of  the 
police ; "  always  provided  such  charge  be  that  of  a  great 
Inspector-General  who  takes  special  pride  not  only  in  every 
detail  of  his  official  work,  but  also  in  the  excellence  of  the 
grey  horses  which  await  him  at  every  halting-place. 

Not  that  we  had  to  hurry  over  the  beautiful  drive. 
Happily  for  my  sketching  mania,  there  was  so  much  police 
inspection  to  be  done  on  the  way,  that  we  were  detained  a 
whole  day  at  Galle  and  another  at  Bentota,  a  very  pretty 
fishing- village,  with  a  really  luxurious  rest-house  charmingly 
situated  beneath  the  cool  shade  of  feathery  tamarind-trees 
and  cocoa-palms,  on  a  little  rocky  headland  washed  by  the 
waves,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Alutgama  Itiver. 

Thence,  looking  along  the  shore,  there  is  a  fine  view  of 
Cape  Barberyu,  which  is  the  westernmost  point  of  Ceylon. 
Grand  waves  breaking  round  rocky  palni-covercd  islands, 
glimpses  of  calm  fresh-water  pools  and  green  turf,  coast 
villages,  and  many  fishing-boats,  successive   headlands  all 


228  RETURN    TO    COLOMBO. 

clothed  with  cocoa-palms,  paudanus,  and  other  tropical  vege- 
tation, and  yellow  sands  carpeted  with  marine  convolvulus, 
make  up  as  pleasant  a  picture  as  can  be  desired. 

Equally  fascinating  is  the  view  from  the  bridge  looking 
up  the  beautiful  river  flowing  so  calndy  between  continuous 
walls  of  lovely  foliage,  to  where,  beyond  many  ranges  of 
palm  and  forest  in  varied  tints  of  green  and  blue,  rises  the 
clear  delicate  range  of  far-away  blue  mountains,  of  which 
the  crowning  peak  is  the  ever-attractive  "  Sri  Pada "  (the 
Holy  Footprint). 

Most  beautiful  of  all  was  a  row  up  tlie  silent  river  in  the 
clear  moonlight,  doubly  attractive  after  the  great  heat  of 
the  day.  Yet  even  that  heat  was  tempered  by  a  delicious 
sea-breeze  and  an  invigorating  scent  of  iodine,  and  the  too 
dazzling  light  on  sea  and  sky  served  to  intensify  enjoyment 
of  the  blessed  shade. 

Truly  exquisite  and  delightful  to  eyes  wearied  with  the 
sun's  glare  is  the  endless  variety  of  cool  refreshing  greens 
which  surround  them  on  every  side  in  this  verdant  para- 
dise ;  large  golden-green  silky  leaves,  which  seem  to  have 
embodied  the  sunlight  that  plays  on  their  upper  surface  ; 
sombre  dark-green  foliage,  so  thick  and  heavy  as  effectually 
to  bar  all  light,  casting  a  cool  deep  shadow  on  the  grassy 
carpet  below.  Tliere  are  olive-greens  and  emerald-greens, 
indigo  and  chrome,  every  tint  that  can  be  produced  by 
blending  every  known  yellow  with  every  known  blue.  Love- 
liest of  all,  perhaps,  is  the  exquisitely  fresh  green  of  the 
rice-fields,  brighter  even  than  our  own  wheat-fields  in  early 
spring. 

As  if  to  harmonise  with  these  all-pervading  hues,  a  large 
proportion  of  living  creatures — the  fairies  of  the  forest — are 
clad  in  green,  the  better  to  escape  the  notice  of  their  foes. 


PREVALENCE  OF  GREEN  CREATURES.      229 

Brilliant  green  birds,  butterflies,  and  dragontlies  flit  from 
tree  to  tree,  tasting  each  honeyed  blossom,  while  green 
lizards  and  green  beetles  find  secure  homes  in  crevices  or 
the  mossy  stems,  and  green  whipsnakes  too  often  glide 
about  among  the  boughs,  perhaps  in  pursuit  of  the  pretty 
little  green  tree-frogs,  which  try  to  hide  themselves  beneath 
the  green  leaves. 

As  to  the  small  green  parroquets  (which  are  the  only 
Singhalese  representatives  of  tlie  parrot  family),  their  name 
is  legion,  and  they  are  as  gregarious  as  our  own  rooks,  vast 
flocks  assembling  towards  evening  in  such  trees  as  they 
fancy,  uttering  shrill  screams,  chattering  and  fluttering,  while 
apparently  fighting  for  the  best  places,  and  dispersing  again 
in  the  early  morning  amid  a  babel  of  the  same  ear-splitting 
screams. 

Though  all  these  parroquets  are  practically  green,  several 
varieties  have  distinguishing  marks  ;  thus  one  peculiar  to  the 
mountains  in  the  Central  Province  has  a  purple  head ;  another, 
which  is  also  peculiar  to  Ceylon,  has  a  deep  red  plume  on 
the  crown  of  the  head ;  a  third  has  a  grey  head,  and  a  fourth 
has  a  rose-coloured  ring  round  the  neck.  Occasionally,  but 
very  rarely,  a  pure  yellow  parroquet  is  hatched,  and  is  valued 
on  the  same  principle  as  the  many-headed  palui,  on  account 
of  its  rarity. 

Attractive  to  the  eye  as  are  these  pretty  birds,  tlieir  un- 
musical voices  make  them  anything  but  desirable  ueiglibours, 
whereas  some  of  the  pigeons,  whose  plumage,  though  less 
brilliant,  is  quite  as  lovely,  have  most  soothing  melodious 
notes.  Such  is  the  Kurulu-goya,  whose  euphonious  Sin- 
ghalese name  well  expresses  its  note.  These  birds  fly  in 
flocks,  and  their  colouring  is  most  delicate  green  flushed  with 
rose-colour.     A  small  pretty  pigeon  with  dark-green  metallic 


230  RETURN    TO    COLOMBO. 

plumage  is  the  Batta-goya,  while  the  Mahavilla-goya  is  also 
a  small  green  dove.  The  Kobaiya  is  a  small  grey  turtle- 
dove, and  the  Baila-goya  is  a  grey  bird  very  like  our  own 
wood-pigeon. 

A  very  common  green  and  brown  bird  is  the  barbet,  of 
which  there  are  at  least  three  varieties  in  Ceylon,  one  of 
which,  with  red  head  and  green  back,  goes  by  the  name 
of  "  the  coppersmith,"  its  strange  metallic  note  being  un- 
pleasantly suggestive  of  hammering  metal — a  sound  which, 
blending  with  the  incessant  creaking,  sawing,  and  buzzing 
noises  produced  by  various  insects,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
creaking  of  wooden  cart-wheels  and  the  working  of  the  gar- 
den-well, sometimes  become  almost  unendurably  irritating. 

Among  the  delicacies  provided  for  us  by  a  most  attentive 
rest-house  keeper  were  some  of  the  oysters  for  which  Ben- 
tota  is  famous,  but  they  are  poor  little  mis-shapen  things, 
somewhat  bitter  in  flavour,  as  well  they  may  be,  from  a 
hereditary  intuition  of  how  successive  generations  of  white 
men  persist  in  tearing  them  from  their  homes,  and  yet 
never  accord  them  one  word  of  praise  ;  for  you  never  hear 
a  Singhalese  oyster  named  except  in  disparaging  compari- 
son with  those  of  Europe  or  America.  They  are,  however, 
allowed  to  be  good  when  roasted  on  the  shore,  in  the  manner 
so  familiar  at  Australian  seaside  picnics. 

Alas  !  how  poor  words  are  to  convey  clear  impressions 
of  lovely  scenes,  with  the  countless  characteristic  details  to 
which  they  owe  so  much  of  their  charm !  As  I  turn  the 
pages  of  many  sketch-books  and  portfolios,  and  feel  how 
vividly  the  slightest  jottings  recall  places,  and  all  their 
attractive  Oriental  inhabitants  and  interesting  customs,  I 
feel  how  impossible  it  is  to  make  mere  words  convey  any 
true  idea  of  what  is  so  fascinating  to  the  eye. 


MERITORIOUS    WATER- JARS.  231 

To  take  one  of  the  most  insignificant  examples,  the  pin^- 
tallie  or  ping-chattie,  i.e.,  "  meritorious  water-jar,"  placed  at 
intervals  along  the  roadside  by  some  one  anxious  to  acquire 
merit  by  keeping  up  a  constant  supply  of  cold  water  for 
thirsty  wayfarers.  Here  is  one  sketched  at  Bentota  on  the 
brink  of  the  sea.  A  large  red  chattie  of  porous  earthen- 
ware on  a  stand  to  raise  it  some  feet  from  the  ground,  and 
with  a  miniature  roof  of  red  tiles,  the  whole  overshadowed 
by  golden-green  banana  leaves ;  a  little  child  carrying  a 
large  green  leaf  as  a  sunshade  stands  beside  its  mother 
while  she  refills  the  great  jar,  across  which  lies  the  wooden 
scoop  with  which  each  traveller  takes  out  water  and  pours 
it  into  his  hand,  drinking  thence,  or  else  pouring  it  into  his 
mouth  from  some  height,  so  that  men  of  all  castes  may 
drink  without  defilement. 

Here  is  a  very  primitive  ping-chattie  poised  on  a  tripod 
formed  by  three  sticks,  the  upper  end  of  which  supports  a 
thatch  of  palm  leaves.  This  is  in  a  cocoa-palm  tope,  and  a 
thirsty  brown  man  with  long  silky  black  hair  carries  in  his 
arms  a  kid,  whose  mother  follows  close,  as  does  also  a  little 
child  guiltless  of  any  raiment. 

Here  is  one  equally  primitive,  sketched  in  a  village  near 
Kandy,  where  the  red  jar  rests  in  the  fork  of  a  small  dead 
tree,  across  the  broken  branches  of  which  is  poised  the 
yellow  fan-shaped  leaf  of  a  talipat-palra,  to  protect  the 
water  from  the  sun.  Beside  it  grows  a  large  aloe,  and  a 
datura  literally  white  with  large  and  very  fragrant  trumpet- 
shaped  blossoms.  Just  beyond,  overshadowed  by  a  great 
"  lettuce-tree,"  its  beautiful  lemon-yellow  foliage  gleam- 
ing in  contrast  with  a  bright  blue  sky,  is  an  ambulara  or 
rest-house  for  Tamil  coolies,  its  solid  white  pillars  sup- 
porting  a   red-tiled   roof,   on    the    summit    of    which   is   a 


232  llETURN    TO   COLOMBO. 

curious  red  earthenware  ornament,  representing  three  times 
three  cobras  arranged  in  a  pinnacle.  Well  for  the  merry- 
squirrels  who  play  hide-and-seek  among  the  broken  tiles 
that  these  are  only  images  of  the  cobra,  and  not  the  genuine 
article  !  A  troop  of  monkeys  are  also  careering  over  the 
roofs  and  in  the  trees,  while  groups  of  turbaned  men  are 
cooking  at  small  fires  in  the  open  air. 

This  rest-house  is  at  the  entrance  of  a  village ;  all  the 
roofs  are  red-tiled,  and  all  are  shaded  either  by  large-leaved 
plantains,  fragrant  white  daturas,  potato-trees  with  lovely 
purple  blossoms,  or  palm-trees  loaded  with  nuts  in  ali 
stages.  On  either  side  of  the  road  flows  a  narrow  stream, 
across  which  a  separate  arched  bridge,  with  steps,  leads  to 
each  house.  In  the  open  shops  hang  huge  clusters  of  ripe 
bananas,  and  piles  of  huge  jak  fruit  to  be  used  in  curries, 
fragrant  pine-apples,  bright  green  ripe  oranges,  and  other 
i'ruit  to  tempt  wayfarers,  also  large  cages  full  of  poultry. 
Among  the  innumerable,  ever-changing  groups  which 
make  up  the  kaleidoscope  of  colour,  all  in  vivid  light 
and  shadow,  comes  a  cart  drawn  by  white  bullocks,  with 
the  usual  high-arched  cover  of  dried  palm-leaves,  which 
throws  such  rich  dark  shadow  on  the  figures  crouching 
within.  This  one  is  literally  covered,  inside  and  out, 
with  red  earthenware  jars  of  all  sizes,  hung  on  with 
cords. 

I  turn  a  page  and  find  another  village,  which,  described 
in  words,  would  seem  only  a  repetition  of  the  last.  But  in 
this  case  the  "  meritorious  water-chattie  "  stands  on  a  neat 
white  pedestal,  built  upon  one  of  the  little  bridges  aforesaid, 
and  it  is  protected  by  a  large  native  umbrella  supported  by 
two  sticks. 

Just  one  more  page  !      Here  is  a  ping-tallie  sketched  at 


DRIVE   ALONG   THE    SEA-COAST.  233 

Dickwella.  It  is  a  uicst  elaborately  sculptured  stone  fout, 
which  (but  that  it  represents  grim  heraldic  lions)  might 
take  a  place  in  any  church.  It  certainly  is  out  of  keeping 
with  the  broken  steps  leading  up  to  the  rude  well  from 
which  it  is  being  filled  by  a  bronze  lad,  clothed  chietly  in 
his  own  long  black  hair,  and  who,  by  the  help  of  a  long 
rope,  draws  up  his  red  jar  from  the  deep  cool  waters  far 
below,  A  Singhalese  woman,  barefooted  of  course,  and 
showing  a  good  deal  of  brown  waist  between  her  white 
jacket  and  orange-coloured  comboy,  is  giving  her  brown 
little  ones  a  drink  from  the  wooden  scoop,  and  oh  !  what 
pretty  creatures  are  some  of  these,  with  their  large  lustrous 
black  eyes.  Similarly  attractive  scenes  meet  one  at  every 
turn,  and  give  human  interest  to  scenes  of  ever-changing 
loveliness. 

The  whole  drive  from  Galle  to  Colombo,  a  distance  of  about 
seventy  miles,  is  one  long  dream  of  beauty.  The  excellent 
carriage-road  runs  so  close  to  the  shore  that  we  are  con- 
stantly catching  sight  and  sound  of  the  vividly  blue  sea 
and  grand  surf,  sometimes  dashing  on  headlands  of  dark 
rock,  sometimes  breaking  more  gently  on  the  yellow  sands 
of  peaceful  bays,  and  revealing  endless  glimpses  of  fishing 
life — brown  boats  with  ruddy  sails,  brown  men,  chielly 
clothed  in  a  yellow  palm-leaf  hat,  drawing  brown  nets. 
The  whole  way  is  overshadowed  by  luxuriant  vegetation  in 
such  varied  combinations  that  the  eye  can  never  weary  of 
such  a  succession  of  beauty. 

Of  course  the  tall  slender  palms,  with  their  sunlit  crowns, 
are  the  predominating  feature,  towering  above  all  to  a  height 
of  ninety  to  a  hundred  feet,  bending  in  every  direction,  and 
often  overgrown  by  graceful  creepers,  which  hang  in  fes- 
toons and  garlands.      The  most  n-markable  of  these  is  the 


234  RETURN    TO    COLOMBO. 

Gloriosa  snpcrha,  there  called  "  Neyangalla,"  a  very  peculiar 
climbing  lily  of  a  gorgeous  scarlet  and  orange. 

Sad  to  say,  on  the  many  thousand  palms  which  clothe 
the  shore  from  Bentota  to  Kalutara  there  is  scarcely  a 
nut  to  be  seen,  these  trees  being  grown  solely  for  the  manu- 
facture of  arrack  from  the  sap  or  toddy,  which,  as  I  have 
already  described,  is  obtained  by  cruelly  beating  the  flower 
spathe  to  prevent  tlie  formation  of  embryo  nuts.  One 
result  of  this  unnatural  culture  is  that  the  very  bats  are 
demoralised ;  and  when  the  toddy  begins  to  ferment,  the 
great  flying-foxes  assemble  in  flocks  and  help  themselves 
to  the  contents  of  the  chatties  so  freely  that  they  literally 
become  drunk  and  riotous ! 

While  many  beautiful  types  of  foliage  combine  to  pro- 
duce an  endless  variety  overhead  and  on  either  side  of  the 
red  road,  the  undergrowth  is  no  less  varied  and  lovely. 
There  are  an  infinite  variety  of  ferns,  including  several 
exquisite  climbing  species,  which  bear  the  most  delicate 
little  fronds,  sometimes  fringed  with  seed  on  stems  like 
black  horse-hair,^  and  which  grow  so  rankly  as  to  veil  tall 
shrubs  and  hang  in  fairy-like  wreaths  from  tree  to  tree. 
In  some  parts  of  the  island  I  have  seen  these  growing  so 
abundantly  that  they  are  cut  wholesale  and  used  for  thatch 
as  ruthlessly  as  we  cut  common  brackens,  the  large  hair- 
like stems  acting  as  excellent  rain-conductors. 

Then  there  are  a  great  variety  of  aroids,  with  handsome 
arrow-headed  leaves,  from  the  cultivated  yam  and  the  calla- 
lily  to  the  crimson-veined  and  spotted  caladium,  familiar  in 
our  greenhouses,  but  of  so  much  larger  growth  that  a  single 
leaf  is  often  plucked  as  an  effective  and  very  pretty  sun- 
shade. 

^  Lygodium  scandens. 


MANGROVE    SWAMPS.  235 

In  the  neighbourliood  of  Galle  a  beautiful  white  lily,^ 
like  our  virgin-lily,  grows  freely  along  the  shore  on  stems 
fully  six  feet  in  height,  and  generally  with  a  luxuriant 
growth  of  goat's-foot  convolvulus,  with  shining  green  leaves 
and  pink  or  delicate  lilac  blossoms,  matting  the  shore  to  the 
brink  of  the  sea,  and  iiivarialily  tenanted  by  innumerable 
tiny  crabs,  chiefly  hermits — the  "  wise  men  "  of  the  sea,  who 
live  in  houses  built  for  themselves  by  other  creatures. 

A  charming  feature  of  this  drive,  or  indeed  of  any  drive 
along  the  coast  of  Ceylon,  is  the  great  number  of  streams 
and  rivers  to  be  crossed  by  wooden  bridges.  Some  are  all 
fringed  with  feathery  bamboos  and  palms ;  others,  forming 
wide  estuaries  as  they  enter  the  sea,  lose  themselves  in 
tidal  swamps  densely  clothed  with  sombre  mangroves,  whose 
aerial  roots  form  a  labyrinth  wherein  myriads  of  crabs 
and  shell-fish,  water-snakes,  crocodiles,  and  other  unpleasant 
creatures,  including  swarms  of  mosquitoes,  find  a  secure 
haven.  A  large  proportion  of  these  roots  are  thrown  out 
from  the  stem  at  a  considerable  height  above  the  mud,  and 
bending  downwards,  act  the  part  of  l)Uttresses  to  support 
the  parent  stem  in  the  loose  soil. 

A  very  curious  feature  in  the  reproduction  of  the  man- 
grove is  that  the  seed  does  not  fall  from  the  seed-vessel 
when  ripe,  but  therein  remains  and  germinates,  while  the 
seed-vessel  remains  attached  to  the  parent  stem.  The  infant 
root  grows  out  at  the  top,  and  continues  growing  till  it 
reaches  the  mud,  or  till  the  seed-vessel  drops  oH",  in  which 
case  it  equally  lands  in  the  mud,  and  there  becomes  estab- 
lished as  a  young  mangrove  to  take  its  part  in  clothing 
the  swamp,  and  by  gradually  extending  the  dense  thicket  of 
vegetation,  reclaim  more  land  from  the  neutral  ground. 

'  Pancratium  ziylnnicHin. 


236  RKTURN    TO    COLOMBO. 

The  bark  of  the  mangrove  is  commercially  valuable  on 
account  of  the  large  amount  of  tannin  it  yields,  and  its 
timber  is  prized  as  firewood ;  but  as  population  increases  in 
the  vicinity  of  mangrove-clad  shores,  it  is  a  grave  question 
whether  the  destruction  of  these  maritime  forests  may  not 
so  disturb  Nature's  equilibrium  as  to  prove  a  source  of 
danger,  as  the  tannin,  which  ceaselessly  drops  from  leaves, 
bark,  and  seeds,  is  said  to  be  a  powerful  antidote  against 
putrefaction,  and  in  places  where  wholesale  denudation  has 
been  permitted,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Brazilian  mangrove 
swamp  off  Eio,  the  enormous  deposits  of  dead  fish  and  shell- 
fish, which  are  left  to  decompose  in  the  burning  heat  on 
the  now  bare  banks  of  black  mud,  are  so  offensive  as  to  be 
deemed  in  at  least  some  measure  accountable  for  the  ter- 
rible visitations  of  yellow  fever  and  other  epidemics  of  com- 
paratively recent  introduction. 

Another  tree  which  flourishes  on  these  shores  is  the 
Baringtonia,  a  large  handsome  tree  with  dark  glossy  foliage 
and  clusters  of  delicate  white  blossom  edged  with  crimson. 
It  bears  large  fibrous  fruits  of  pyramidal  form,  within  which 
lie  seeds  which  are  used  in  medicine,  and  from  which  an 
oil  is  expressed  for  lamps,  which  is  also  occasionally  used 
by  fishers,  who  mix  it  with  bait,  and  so  contrive  to  stupefy 
the  fish,  which  are  then  easily  captured. 

One  of  the  loveliest  of  these  many  rivers  is  the  Kalu- 
Ganga  or  Black  Eiver,  at  the  mouth  of  which  is  Ivalutara, 
a  large  and  pleasant  village.  "VYe  started  from  Bentota 
with  the  earliest  glimmer  of  dawn,  while  fires  were  still 
gleaming  in  the  fishers'  boats,  and  so  had  full  benefit  of  the 
deliciously  cool  morning  air,  and  of  the  lovely  early  lights 
reflected  in  the  calm  waters  of  a  long  beautiful  lagoon.  We 
halted  close  to  Kalutara  to  secure  a  rapid  sketch  of  a  very 


SUBDIVISIONS    OF   THE    FISHER    CASTE.  237 

fine  banyan-tree  which  formed  a  magnificent  archway  right 
across  the  road,  aerial  roots  having  dropped  from  the  main 
branches  and  taken  root  on  the  farther  side.  The  whole 
was  bearded  with  a  fringe  of  long  brown  filaments  and  over- 
grown by  luxuriant  parasitic  plants  and  ferns,  producing  a 
most  beautiful  effect.  Alas  !  it  is  reported  that  this  very 
remarkable  tree  has  been  blown  over  in  a  fierce  gale. 

Very  fascinating  is  the  view  from  the  old  fort  at  Kalu- 
tara,  where  we  halted  for  breakfast,  looking  up  the  beauti- 
ful Kalu-Ganga  to  the  distant  mountain  range,  crowned  as 
usual  by  the  Mount  of  the  Holy  Foot,  which  is  distant 
about  sixty-five  miles.  The  river  is  navigable  for  boats  as 
far  as  Eatnapura,  whence  many  of  the  pilgrims  to  the  Peak 
avail  themselves  of  this  easy  mode  of  returning  to  the  sea- 
coast.  Much  of  the  estate  produce  is  also  brought  by  this 
easy  waterway  from  the  hills  to  Kalutara,  and  thence  to 
Colombo  either  by  rail  or  by  further  water-carriage  through 
lagoons  and  canals,  such  as  those  by  which  we  travelled  to 
Kalpitya.  The  railway  has  the  double  advantage  of  speed 
and  of  security  against  dishonest  boatmen,  to  whom  the 
quiet  of  the  lagoons  offers  almost  irresistible  temptations. 

The  river  is  here  spanned  by  a  wide  bridge,  below  which 
lay  moored  many  thatched  boats,  while  seaward,  fishers 
were  drawing  up  their  long  seine  nets  and  others  were 
fishing  from  boats. 

Strange  to  say,  the  laws  of  caste  are  as  rigidly  marked 
between  the  subdivisions  of  the  fisher  caste  as  between 
separate  castes.  Tiiere  are  five  upper  divisions,  who  are 
allowed  to  intermarry;  each  of  these  has  a  distinctive 
name,  meaning  "  tiiose  who  fish  from  the  rocks,"  "  those 
who  fish  from  boats,"  "  those  who  catcii  turtle,"  "  those  who 
cast  nets,"  and  "  those  who  fish  with  a  rod." 


238  RETURN    TO    COLOMBO. 

Besides  these  there  are  a  uumber  of  divisions  of  fishers 
of  lower  social  position,  who  must  on  no  account  aspire  to 
marry  with  their  betters,  though  some  are  engaged  in  lucra- 
tive trades,  such  as  boat  and  sliip  Ijuilding  and  cabinet- 
making.  Some  are  carpenters  and  some  are  farmers — a 
curious  blending  of  professions  according  to  our  British 
experience  of  the  sharp  line  of  demarcation  which  exists 
between  our  own  fisher-folk  and  all  others  inhabiting  even 
the  other  end  of  the  same  village. 

Kalutara  is  one  of  the  few  places  in  Ceylon  where  that 
most  delicious  of  fruits  the  mangosteen  ripens  well — a  great 
point  in  its  favour.  The  industry  by  which  the  town  is 
most  widely  known  is  that  of  weaving  baskets  from  the 
fibre  of  a  palm  leaf,  which  is  split  as  narrow  as  fine  grass, 
and  dyed  black,  red,  and  yellow.  The  baskets  are  oblong, 
and  are  sold  in  nests  of  twelve,  fitting  inside  of  one  another, 
very  convenient  to  carry  and  very  useful.  They  are  wonder- 
fully light  and  yet  durable,  and  are  made  by  women  and 
children.  Nearer  to  Colombo  a  good  many  Malays  manu- 
facture baskets  and  flower-stands  from  the  rattan-cane,  and 
at  various  villages  in  the  interior  we  saw  people  weaving 
coarse  rush-mats,  but  all  finer  ornamental  mats  used  in  Cey- 
lon are  imported  from  the  Suvadiva  group  of  the  Maldive 
Isles,  which  are  a  dependency  of  Ceylon. 

It  is  much  to  be  feared  that  future  travellers  will  miss 
much  of  the  enjoyment  of  this  lovely  drive  to  Colombo,  for 
the  railway  is  now  open  as  far  as  Bentota,  with  a  station 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Alutgama  Eiver — a  beautiful  line  of 
railway,  skirting  still  lagoons  and  generally  running  close 
along  the  shore,  where  the  mighty  waves  break  with  a 
crash  louder  than  the  roar  of  the  rushing  train.  But  rail- 
way travel  allows  small  leisure  to  realise  all  the  beauties 


ORDEAL   BY    BOILING    OIL.  239 

of  the  panorama  so  rapidly  revealed,  and  in  an  Oriental 
land,  where  each  moment  we  whirl  past  something  of  interest, 
it  is  the  worst  form  of  the  aggravation  of  tableaux  vivants, 
for  at  best  we  catch  an  unsatisfying  glimpse  of  scenes  which 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  have  vanished  from  our  gaze. 

Nothing  is  more  remarkable  in  the  history  of  all  Oriental 
railways  than  the  rapidity  with  which  pilgrims  of  various 
faiths  avail  themselves  of  this  mode  of  lightening  the  toil 
of  their  pilgrimage.  The  extension  to  Beutota  proved  no 
exception,  for  very  soon  after  it  was  opened  crowds  of  Mahom- 
medans  poured  down  from  Coloniljo  and  elsewhere  to  wor- 
ship at  the  Alutgama  mosque. 

Here,  as  elsewhere,  the  old  life  and  the  new  flow  side  by 
side,  sometimes  in  strange  contrast.  Thus  while  the  rail- 
way from  Kalutara  to  Bentota  was  in  process  of  completion, 
three  persons,  including  a  native  headman,  were  tried  before 
the  District  Court  for  having  subjected  several  persons  to 
the  torture  known  as  the  "  ordeal  by  boiling  oil,"  in  order 
to  extract  a  confession  of  the  theft  of  some  plumbago. 

The  accused,  who  did  not  attempt  to  deny  the  ufleuce, 
were  very  much  aggrieved  that  British  law  should  interfere, 
and  even  punish  them  for  an  act  sanctioned  by  ancient 
custom,  and  wliich,  it  appears,  is  still  commonly  practised 
in  out-of-the-way  parts  of  the  Isle. 

The  ceremony  is  as  follows.  Oil  from  newly-gathc-red 
king  cocoa-nuts  is  manufactured  by  a  friend  of  the  com- 
plainant, and  is  heated  over  the  fire  in  a  chattie.  When 
boiling,  each  of  the  persons  accused  is  required  to  dip  his 
fingers  thrice  into  the  chattie,  and,  I  believe,  thrice  also  into 
a  preparation  of  boiling  cow-dung.  If  he  can  refrain  from 
any  exclamation  of  pain,  he  is  held  to  be  innocent,  but  any 
cry  is  equivalent  to  an  admission  of  guilt.      The  only  con- 


240  RETURN    TO    COLOMBO. 

solation  of  the  victim  is  that  he  is  at  liberty  to  sprinkle 
over  his  adversary  as  much  boiling  oil  as  sticks  to  his 
fingers. 

In  the  present  case,  though  the  five  persons  accused  were 
all  forcibly  dragged  up  to  the  chattie  and  compelled  to 
plunge  their  hands  in  the  boiling  oil,  all  managed  to  refrain 
from  crying  out  except  one  young  lad,  though  he  was  the 
least  injured,  consequently  he  was  declared  to  be  the  thief 
and  required  to  surrender  the  stolen  property.  All  the  five 
persons  subjected  to  the  ordeal  were  so  shockingly  scalded 
as  to  be  unable  to  return  to  their  work  for  three  weeks. 

Much  to  their  indignation,  the  self-appointed  torturers 
were  each  condemned  to  pay  a  fine  of  a  hundred  rupees,  or 
undergo  ten  months'  imprisonment. 

At  Pantura  (or,  as  it  is  now  called,  Panadura),  about  half- 
way from  Kalutara  to  Colombo,  we  crossed  a  backwater  of 
the  sea,  which,  stretching  inland,  forms  the  beautiful  lake 
Bolgoda,  all  dotted  with  charming  islands.  These  are  the 
homes  of  innumerable  waterfowl,  and  also  are  the  scene  of 
a  curious  phase  of  bird  life,  quite  a  la  Box  and  Cox,  afford- 
ing a  roosting-ground  by  day  to  flocks  of  large  flying-foxes, 
which,  after  a  night  of  marauding  among  the  fruit-trees, 
come  here  at  dawn  to  hang  themselves  up  on  secure  boughs, 
just  as  the  crows,  who  have  slept  here  peacefully  all  night, 
as  beseems  respectable  workers,  are  starting  on  their  day  of 
useful  toil  as  scavengers. 

As  we  drove  cheerily  on  our  way  from  Kalutara  to 
Colombo,  the  excellence  of  "  the  Queen's  highway "  could 
not  but  call  forth  the  usual  encomium,  as  we  contrasted 
our  pleasant  drive  from  Galle  with  the  toilsome  journey 
of  the  Governor's  party  when  travelling  over  the  same 
ground  in  the  year  1800,  when  roads   were  non-existent. 


A    CONTRAST    IN    TRAVEL.  211 

Just  think  of  the  heat  and  of  the  dust  stirred  up  by  IGO 
palanquin-bearers  and  400  baggage-coolies  trudging  wearily 
through  the  hot  sand,  to  say  nothing  of  the  troop  of  fifty 
lascars,  six  horses,  and  two  elephants  who  were  necessary 
for  the  transport  and  care  of  the  tents  ! 

Now  the  coast-road,  769  miles  in  length,  extends  right 
round  the  island,  the  greater  part  of  it  being  available  for 
wheel  traffic,  though  liere  and  there  portions  still  leave 
room  for  improvement. 

Since  we  parted  at  Galle,  the  Bishop  had  been  ordered 
to  Malta  on  sick-leave,  and  the  Campbells  had  most  kindly 
offered  me  headquarters  at  their  pleasant  temporary  home 
in  Captain's  Gardens,  which  is  a  promontory  jutting  into 
the  Lake  of  Colombo,  and  clothed  with  most  luxuriant 
vegetation — flowering  trees  gorgeous  with  fragrant  blossom, 
kittool-palms  seeming  literally  overladen  with  ropes  of  fruit, 
all  reflected  in  the  calm  water,  on  which  floated  a  wealth  of 
lovely  lilies. 

At  the  entrance  a  fine  banyan-tree  formed  an  arch  right 
across  the  road,  somewhat  in  the  style  of  the  tree  at  Kalutara, 
but  lacking  its  grace  and  its  dainty  tracery  of  ferns.  Two 
fine  india-rubber  trees  spread  their  wide  arms  and  cool 
shade  over  the  lawn  in  front  of  the  comfortable  bungalow, 
a  one-storied  house  of  the  regular  type,  with  a  wide  verandah 
and  red-tiled  roof,  white  pillars  supporting  the  home  of 
innumerable  happy  squirrels  and  little  lizards. 

A  separate  bungalow  stood  a  little  apart  in  tlie  garden, 
and  the  larjre  house  was  so  full  of  little  daughters  that  this 
separate  "  guest-house  "  was  assigned  to  me,  greatly  to  my 
pleasure,  as  it  was  charmingly  situated  on  the  very  brink 
of  the  lovely  lake,  and  sliaded  with  cocoa-palms  of  all  ages 
(which  implies  the  loveliest  variety  of  form),  growing  amid 

VOL.  II.  Q 


212  RETURN    TO    COLOMBO. 

cool  green  grass,  and  catching  every  breath  of  air,  whenever 
there  was  the  faintest  breeze  from  sea  or  lake.  And  it  cer- 
tainly was  hot ;  every  one  around  was  gasping  and  craving 
for  the  "  Chota  monsoon"^  to  bring  cool  rain,  though  per- 
sonally! gloried  in  what  seemed  to  me  divine  weather; 
and  certainly  I  was  always  up  to  anything,  from  gunfire  till 
starlight. 

It  was  fortunate  that  I  was  not  troubled  with  nerves,  for 
the  house  of  which  I  was  sole  occupant  had  five  outer  doors 
and  seventeen  windows,  not  one  of  which  could  be  securely 
closed,  and  so  they  all  stood  wide  open  day  and  night,  for 
if  they  could  not  keep  out  thieves,  there  was  no  reason  why 
they  should  keep  out  air  !  I  confess  to  having  experienced 
an  occasional  nocturnal  qualm  at  the  proximity  of  a  large 
village  of  dhobies  (laundry-men)  not  of  the  best  repute, 
and  sometimes  awoke  in  the  moonlight  to  make  sure  that 
there  were  no  long  poles  coming  in  at  the  window  to  fish 
out  my  clothes  in  the  approved  fashion.  However,  no  such 
evil  befell;  and,  indeed,  by  reason  of  my  host's  office,  police 
orderlies  were  always  somewhere  about  to  scare  marauders. 

^  Chota,  small. 


2i3 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

NATIVE   POLICE. 

Native  police — Frequency  of  stabbing  and  of  perjury — Intricate  divi- 
sion of  property — Too  many  legal  advisers — Regulations  concern- 
ing cart  and  servant  registration — Pearl-fisherj- — Cruelty  to  animals 
— Volunteers. 

The  very  fine  body  of  native  police,  as  at  present  constituted, 
is  the  creation  of  Mr.  G.  W.  Pi.  Campbell,^  under  whose  com- 
mand it  continued  till  this  year,  1891 — a  force  of  which  he 
has  good  reason  to  be  proud. 

In  September  1866,  at  the  request  of  Sir  Hercules  Robin- 
son, he  resigned  an  excellent  position  in  India  to  undertake 
the  remodelling  of  the  very  unsatisfactory  police  force  of 
that  day. 

He  found  it  to  consist  of  a  nominal  force  of  5G0  men,  but 
in  reality  there  were  only  470,  quite  untrained,  and  lacking 
in  all  esprit  de  corps.  These  were  expected  to  keep  order 
in  a  population  of  over  two  million  people,  by  many  of 
whom  he  found  that  crime  was  regarded  witli  complete 
indifference,  even  in  such  horrible  cases  as  that  of  a  father 
lifting  up  his  infant  by  the  feet  and  dashing  its  brains  out 
on  the  floor  before  its  mother's  eyes,  merely  to  gratify  his 
almost  causeless  rage  against  her ;  or  that  of  a  man  brain- 

^  Now  Sir  George  W.  II.  Campbell,  K.C.il.G. 


244  NATIVE    POLICE. 

ing  his  own  little  girl  on  purpose  to  get  his  father-in-law 
lianged  for  murder.  He  found  that  even  under  the  existing 
very  imperfect  system  for  detection  of  crime,  no  less  than 
81  cases  of  murder  and  22  of  manslaughter  had  been  proven 
within  the  two  previous  years. 

"Where  public  opinion  viewed  such  crimes  with  perfect 
apathy,  it  was  no  easy  task  for  any  body  of  police  to  work 
effectively.  Nevertheless,  in  an  amazingly  short  time  Mr. 
Campbell  had  reorganised  the  whole  force,  and  brought  it 
into  such  excellent  working  order  as  to  call  forth  the 
highest  commendation  from  Sir  Hercules,  to  whom  Mr. 
Campbell  then  reported  that  his  aim  was  to  raise  the  police 
to  such  a  point  that  the  Ceylon  Eifles  (an  expensive  native 
regiment  with  European  officers)  might  be  altogether  dis- 
pensed with. 

However  desirable,  such  a  project  then  seemed  quite 
beyond  the  range  of  possibilities.  However,  soon  afterwards 
Mr.  Campbell  was  sent  to  Penang  as  Lieutenant-Governor 
for  eighteen  months,  and  thence  came  to  England  on  sick- 
leave.  On  his  return  to  Ceylon,  he  found  that  during  his 
absence  the  Ceylon  Eifles  had  actually  been  disbanded  as  un- 
necessary, thereby  effecting  a  very  large  saving  for  the  colony. 

A  considerable  number  of  the  disbanded  soldiers  (mostly 
Malays)  were  drafted  into  the  police,  which  incorporates 
men  of  very  varied  nationalities — British,  Portuguese,  Dutch, 
Singhalese,  Tamils,  and  Burghers  of  mixed  race,  welding  the 
whole  into  a  remarkably  fine  and  efficient  force  numbering 
about  1470. 

The  men  are  smart  and  soldierly,  and  may  be  described 
as  civil  police  with  a  semi-military  training.  The  thick 
tight-fitting  jacket  and  trousers  and  stiff  leather  stock  were 
at  once   discarded  in   favour   of  a   suitable  and  becomincr 


"  A    HANDFUL    OF    MEN."  2  i5 

imiform,  consisting  of  tunic  and  trousers  of  dark  blue  serge, 
with  waist-belt  and  boots  of  dark  brown  leather,  and  scarlet 
forage-cap  with  a  black  top-knot.  They  are  armed  with 
Snider  rifles  and  swords,  and  are  regularly  drilled,  but 
except  when  on  jail-guard  or  guarding  convicts  or  treasure, 
they  only  carry  batons. 

Their  total  cost  to  the  general  revenue  is  set  down  at 
401,831  rupees  per  annum;  that  of  the  old  force  was  aliout 
150,000  rupees.  The  present  outlay  includes  many  such 
items  as  the  feeding  and  transport  of  prisoners  and  of  sick 
paupers,  cost  of  working  the  elaborate  and  very  eflficient 
systems  of  registration  of  servants  and  carts,  and  many  other 
matters ;  and  well  may  Mr.  Campbell  say,  when  pleading 
for  a  greatly  strengthened  detective  branch,  "No  country 
in  the  East  bas  so  small  or  nearly  so  cheap  a  force  as 
Ceylon."  "  Can  it  be  expected  that  1500  poorly  paid  police, 
more  than  half  of  whom  are  employed  to  guard  convicts 
and  treasuries  and  to  keep  order  in  the  streets — can  it  be 
expected  that  this  handful  of  men,  scattered  throughout  a 
country  nearly  as  large  as  Ireland,  and  with  a  population 
numbering  nearly  three  millions,  and  criminal  to  an  ^cnusual 
extent,  can  bring  a  large  majority  of  the  worst  criminals  to 
justice  ? 

"  Whereas  Ireland,  with  a  population  a  little  more  than 
double  that  of  Ceylon,  has  about  13,000  police  with  300 
officers,  Ceylon  (with  only  seven  officers  in  receipt  of 
upwards  of  1500  rupees  per  annum,  which,  vahiing  the 
rupee  at  Is.  Gd.,  represents  £112,  IGs.  per  annum)  has 
under  1500  police.  Even  this  small  force  is  employed  uu 
such  duties  as  guarding  convict  gangs  on  public  works,  such 
as  the  saltpans  at  Hambantota,  the  Muhara  quarries,  the 
breakwater,  &c.     They  are,  further,  the  only  relieving  oflicers 


246  NATIVE    POLICE. 

of  the  vagrant  portion  of  the  helpless  poor  ;  they  must  attend 
to  vaccination,  sanitation  of  places  of  pilgrimage,  the  weights 
and  measures  of  dealers,  storage  of  kerosine,  gunpowder, 
&c.,  and  they  are  now  the  jailors  of  several  of  the  minor 
jails." 

Till  within  the  last  three  years  there  were  no  habour- 
police,  so  that  all  work  of  this  sort  likewise  fell  on  the 
regular  force.  Now  the  development  of  Colombo  harbour 
has  necessitated  the  appointment  of  a  harbour-inspector 
with  a  couple  of  whaleboats  and  about  sixteen  men  specially 
for  this  work.  The  police  are  now  scattered  over  the  country 
in  ninety-four  different  detachments,  and  considering  that 
there  are  on  an  average  only  four  of  the  regular  police  at 
each  station  in  rural  districts  to  look  after  about  a  hundred 
square  miles  of  cultivated  land,  all  liable  to  crop-thieving,  and 
that  they  have  to  escort  and  guard  prisoners,  keep  order  in 
one  or  two  large  village  bazaars,  and  by  their  presence  deter 
crop-thieves  and  purchasers  of  such  stolen  goods,  take  care 
of  sick  wayfarers,  and  serve  all  the  countless  summonses 
and  warrants  that  may  be  issued,  it  is  evident  that  they 
cannot  eat  the  bread  of  idleness.  In  the  whole  force  there 
is  not  a  single  mounted  constable,  so  all  the  work  must  be 
done  on  foot.  In  each  province,  however,  the  Government 
Agent  has  a  body  of  untrained  and  unpaid  village  police, 
who  in  some  measure  lighten  the  toil  of  the  regular  police. 

Some  idea  of  the  miscellaneous  work  which  falls  on  the 
police  department  might  be  gathered  from  a  single  detail 
of  its  office-work,  namely,  that  about  70,000  documents  are 
annually  received  and  despatched  from  the  two  chief  offices 
alone,  i.e.,  Kandy  and  Colombo. 

At  these  two  points  the  police  barracks  are  a  perfect 
triumph  of  ingenuity,  so  admirable  is  the  result  produced  for 


POLICE   BARRACKS    MADE   BEAUTIFUL.  247 

the  money  expended,  both  as  regards  the  construction  of 
really  handsome  buildings  at  a  very  low  cost,  and  also  in 
the  excellent  taste  displayed  in  the  careful  laying  out  of  the 
grounds,  with  such  profusion  of  flowering  trees  and  shrubs, 
that  the  whole  effect  is  that  of  luxuriant  gardens. 

This  is  especially  striking  at  Kew,  a  peninsula  on  the 
Colombo  Lake,  formerly  occupied  by  the  Ceylon  Rifles,  whose 
barracks,  with  their  dreary  muddy  surroundings,  have  been 
transformed  by  Mr.  Campbell  and  his  men  into  a  scene 
of  beauty.  Here  and  at  Bentota  the  gorgeous  display  of 
Gloriosa  superla  and  other  splendid  climbing  plants  remains 
vividly  impressed  on  my  memory.  The  same  care  is  shown 
wherever  a  police-station  has  been  established  in  various 
parts  of  the  Isle,  and  at  elevations  ranging  up  to  7000  feet, 
so  that  these  are  in  a  measure  experimental  gardens  for  new 
products. 

It  is  greatly  to  be  desired  that  these  should  quickly 
multiply,  for  as  yet  very  many  police-stations  are  still 
without  any  Government  buildings,  consequently  ordinary 
dwelling-houses  are  hired  to  act  as  offices  and  lock-ups, 
while  the  constables  have  to  hire  quarters  for  themselves, 
often  widely  scattered,  and  sometimes  in  very  undesirable 
company.  The  married  men,  who  constitute  more  than 
two-thirds  of  the  force,  have  to  pay  about  one-eighth  of 
their  whole  slender  salary  for  the  use  of  very  wretched 
huts. 

This  is  doubly  hard,  as  not  only  are  the  necessaries  of 
life  much  dearer  in  Ceylon  than  on  the  mainland  of  India, 
but  the  rate  of  pay  in  all  ranks  is  from  a  quarter  to  half 
that  of  the  corresponding  rank  in  the  Indian  police. 
Even  the  Inspector-General,  after  serving  ten  years  in  the 
Bombay  police,  and   after   twenty-four   years  of  ceaseless 


248  NATIVE    POLICE. 

toil  in  Ceylon,  has  received  only  1000  rupees  a  month, 
which  is  tlie  average  pay  of  a  Superintendent  of  Police 
in  India.  But  the  generally  low  scale  of  pay  is  more 
apparent  by  comparing  the  weekly  31s.  Gd.  of  a  first-class 
London  constable  with  the  salary  of  the  European  constables 
in  Ceylon,  most  of  whom  receive  less  than  10s.  a  week, 
minus  several  deductions ! 

Now,  as  regards  our  primary  notions  of  the  raison  d'etre 
of  a  police  force,  namely,  the  detection  and  suppression  of 
crime,  I  confess  it  was  to  me  almost  incredible  when  I  was 
first  told  of  the  deeply-rooted  criminal  tendencies  of  the 
Singhalese — these  civil  people,  seemingly  so  mild  and  gentle, 
so  courteous  and  sympathetic  to  strangers — to  hear  of 
many  being  savage  and  cruel  to  one  another,  cherishing 
anger,  wrath,  malice,  jealousy,  railing,  and  revenge,  result- 
ing iu  a  terribly  large  proportion  of  robberies,  violent 
quarrels,  and  murders,  was  certainly  a  grievous  revelation. 
Yet  alas !  it  is  all  too  true,  and  the  police  reports  present  a 
dreadful  catalogue  of  most  callous  murders,  generally  on 
account  of  the  merest  trifle,  the  victim  being  often  some 
one  to  whom  the  murderer  bears  no  ill-will,  perhaps  even 
his  own  near  relation,  and  the  sole  cause  is  that  a  false 
charge  of  murder  may  be  brought  against  some  innocent 
person,  against  whom  he  has  a  spite !  Imagine  murdering 
a  friend  in  order  to  throw  blame  on  a  foe  ! 

But  the  larger  number  of  murders  are  the  result  of 
momentary  passion — it  is  a  word  and  a  stab,  and  these, 
alas!  multiply  only  too  surely  with  the  ever -spreading 
curses  of  drink  and  gambling,  "  the  prolific  parents  of  Sin- 
ghalese vice." 

No  one  can  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  singularly  small 
proportion  of  women  who  find  their  way  to  the  prisons  of 


THE    TRUE    CAUSES    OF    CRIME.  249 

Ceylon.  The  daily  average  of  convicted  persons  in  prison 
in  the  last  twelve  years  ranges  from  1612  (of  whom  only 
17  were  women)  to  3627  (of  whom  only  32  were  women). 
Mr.  Campbell  questioned  a  number  of  the  most  intelligent 
prisoners  as  to  what  cause  they  attributed  this  difference  to. 
"  Our  women  do  not  drink  nor  gamble,"  was  the  reply. 

All  agreed  that  these  two  evils  lay  at  the  root  of  all 
their  trouble.  Not  only  do  illicit  drinking-houses  provide 
gambling  facilities  to  attract  customers,  but  the  men  fre- 
quent secluded  gardens,  and  arrange  lonely  meeting-places 
in  the  forest,  whither  each  carries  his  own  supply  of  liquor, 
and  then  they  settle  down  to  gamble,  betting  (heads-and- 
tails  fashion)  on  the  throw  of  certain  shells,  flat  on  one  side, 
round  on  the  other. 

Some  men,  whose  whole  year's  earning  would  barely  ex- 
ceed a  hundred  rupees,  confessed  to  having  lost  or  won  two 
hundred  at  a  sitting.  Then,  after  this  excitement,  some  are 
sulky,  some  desperate,  and  the  majority  more  than  half 
drunk.  Then  the  beggared,  reckless  men  begin  quarrelling, 
and  most  cruel  murders  ensue,  in  which  the  victim  is  some- 
times struck  a  score  of  times,  the  others  probably  going  off 
to  recruit  their  fortunes  by  robbery  or  cattle-lifting. 

A  large  number  of  deaths  are  caused  by  blows  from  clubs 
or  bludgeons,  but  a  still  larger  proportion  are  due  to  stab- 
bing v»"ith  the  sharp-pointed  sheath-knife  which  a  Singhalese 
habitually  carries  in  his  belt  for  pruning  and  other  agri- 
cultural work,  and  which  proves  only  too  handy  in  every 
moment  of  passion.  It  is  urged  that  a  law  forbidding  the 
use  of  these  implements,  and  enforcing  that  of  clasp-knives, 
would  be  beneficial,  as  the  moment  required  for  opening  a 
clasp-knife  would  give  time  for  thought;  especially  if  it 
happily  closed  on  the  fingers  of  the  passionate  man,  might 


250  ■       NATIVE    POLICE. 

it  tend  to  cool  his  ardour,  tlie  average  Singhalese,  like 
the  brutal  Briton,  being  very  averse  to  pain.  Hence  the 
excellent  deterrent  influence  of  flogging — a  tolerably  liberal 
use  of  the  lash  or  the  rattan  (cane)  having  been  found 
highly  efficacious  in  diminishing  cattle-stealing  in  some  of 
the  worst  districts. 

That  the  ever-present,  ever-open  sheath-knife  is  largely 
responsible  for  Singhalese  crime  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
nearly  all  the  murderers  are  of  this  race ;  whereas  the 
Tamils,  who  do  not  habitually  wear  these  knives,  though 
continually  being  convicted  of  aggravated  assault,  almost 
invariably  stop  short  of  murder. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  in  almost  all  murder  cases  the 
victim  and  his  assailant  are  of  the  same  nationality — Tamil 
against  Tamil,  Singhalese  against  Singhalese,  Malay  against 
Malay — proving  the  absence  of  any  race  animosity. 

I  think  a  few  samples  of  cases  quoted  from  the  police 
reports  will  be  of  interest,  and  in  any  case,  the  native  names 
are  characteristic. 

First,  then,  I  find  that  Ponambalam,  a  Tamil  man,  hav- 
ing been  locked  up  for  drunkenness,  made  a  desperate  rush 
to  escape.  Noordeen  Bawa,  a  police-constable,  stopped  him, 
when  Ponambalam  seized  Noordeen's  thumb  of  the  right 
hand  in  his  teeth,  and  held  it  for  half  an  hour.  It  could 
not  be  released  till  Pouambalam's  teeth  were  forced  apart 
with  a  chisel.  Poor  Noordeen,  whose  thumb  was  nearly 
bitten  through,  died  of  tetanus. 

Puchirale,  a  Singhalese  cultivator,  was  on  a  tree  in  the 
jungle  picking  fruit,  when  Appuhamy,  also  a  Singhalese 
cultivator,  fired  and  killed  him.  He  said  he  had  mistaken 
him  for  a  monkey,  but  as  they  had  been  on  bad  terms, 
Appuhamy  was  put  on  his  trial,  but  was  acquitted. 


EXAMPLES    OF    CRIME.  251 

Urugala,  a  wealthy  Singhalese  cultivator,  aged  sixty-five, 
having  signified  his  intention  of  distributing  his  property 
among  his  children  to  the  exclusion  of  his  son  Ukkurala, 
the  latter  beat  his  father  with  a  piece  of  sugar-cane,  so  that 
he  died. 

At  Batticaloa  a  man  quarrelled  with  his  mother  about  a 
cow,  and  killed  her  with  a  stick.  For  this  he  received  four 
months'  imprisonment. 

Appuwa,  a  Singhalese  cultivator,  while  drunk,  stabl)ed 
with  a  knife  and  so  killed  his  little  daughter  Kirihami,  aged 
four  years,  owing  to  a  quarrel  with  his  wife  for  not  having 
his  food  ready.     He  was  acquitted. 

Abaran,  a  Singhalese,  was  shot  dead  by  Sirimalhami, 
whose  mistress  Abaran  had  carried  off  some  months  pre- 
viously. Two  young  men  helped  Sirimalhami  to  remove 
the  body  to  a  jungle  and  there  burn  it.  The  two  assistants 
were  each  sentenced  to  five  years'  rigorous  imprisonment, 
but  the  murderer  was  acquitted. 

Near  Matara,  eight  Singhalese  set  upon  one,  and  hacked 
him  to  death  with  choppers  and  sticks.  Three  were  sen- 
tenced to  ten  years  with  hard  labour,  but  the  rest  were 
acquitted. 

Muttu  Menika,  a  Singhalese  girl  of  fifteen,  was  stabbed 
seventeen  times  by  Dingirea,  a  Singhalese  man  twenty-four 
years  of  age,  because  she  refused  to  marry  him.  He  was 
sentenced  to  death. 

Till  recently  all  the  inmates  of  a  house  were  sometimes 
brutally  murdered  by  robbers  in  order  to  get  rid  of  incon- 
venient witnesses ;  but  this  was  a  characteristic  of  a  form 
of  gang-robberies  now  happily  stamped  out. 

As  examples  of  crime  in  1889,  Harmanis  Soyza,  a  Sin- 
ghalese fisher  aged  twenty-five,  having  deserted  his  mistress, 


252  NATIVE    POLICE. 

Siku,  a  Singhalese  girl  aged  twenty,  and  being  taunted  by 
her  and  her  mother,  became  infuriated,  and  entering  their 
house,  stabbed  and  killed  them  both,  also  stabbing  and 
grievously  wounding  Siku's  sister,  Punchi  ISTona. 

Balina,  a  Singhalese  washerwoman,  having  quarrelled  with 
Sunda,  a  neighbour,  set  fire  to  his  house,  and  then  stabbed 
him  so  that  he  died,  for  which  she  was  sentenced  to  death. 

That  the  amount  of  jewellery  worn  by  children  does  not 
oftener  lead  them  into  peril  is  surprising.  Here,  however, 
is  a  case  in  point.  Sinnasamy,  a  Tamil  coolie,  cut  the  throat 
of  Eamer,  a  Tamil  schoolboy  aged  eight,  in  order  to  steal 
his  bangles,  watch-chain,  and  two  pairs  of  earrings.  Sinna- 
samy was  hanged,  as  he  deserved  to  be. 

Mataraye  Samel,  a  Singhalese  servant,  struck  Babie,  an 
ayah,  on  the  head  with  an  areca-nut  cutter,  because  she  told 
her  mistress  of  his  intimacy  with  a  girl  in  the  house.  Lock- 
jaw supervened  and  poor  Babie  died,  whereupon  Samel  was 
sentenced  to  ten  years'  hard  labour. 

Velen  Sinnatambu,  a  Tamil,  aged  twenty-five,  in  a  fit  of 
rage  hacked  his  wife,  Sinnapillai,  to  pieces  with  a  chopper. 
She  was  a  girl  under  sixteen  years  of  age.  The  murderer 
was  hanged. 

Even  peaceful  green  pastures  can  be  made  the  occasion 
of  battle  in  Ceylon  as  well  as  in  the  Hebrides.  Thus  at 
Jaffna,  Velan  Kanapathi  was  killed  and  Arumugam  Kana- 
pathi  seriously  injured  by  being  struck  with  stones  in  a 
quarrel  about  rights  of  pasturage.  Ten  men,  all  Tamils, 
were  apprehended  on  this  charge. 

In  the  same  district  three  Tamil  men  entered  the  house 
of  a  fourth,  armed  with  clubs  and  a  sharp-edged  stone,  and 
fractured  his  skull.  Each  was  sentenced  to  ten  years' 
rigorous  imprisonment.     Another  skull  was  fractured  by  a 


MURDERS    TO    CAUSE    FALSE    ACCUSATION.  253 

heavy  stone  at  beautiful  Matara,  in  an  altercation  over  the 
produce  of  a  kitool-palm  tree. 

Most  extraordinary  cases  of  murder  are  those  which  are 
done  solely  in  order  to  bring  a  false  accusation  against  some 
one  else.  At  Galle,  Nicholas  de  Silva  Madanayeke  took  his 
own  child,  twelve  months  old,  and  dashed  it  to  the  ground ; 
then  accused  three  young  men  of  good  character  of  having 
killed  it.  Happily  they  were  acquitted,  and  the  inhuman 
father  was  hanged  within  the  walls  of  Galle  jail. 

Another  case  is  that  of  a  man  who  shot  his  own  brother 
in  order  to  bring  a  charge  of  murder  against  three  enemies, 
while  another  knocked  out  the  brains  of  his  own  little 
daughter  in  order  to  get  his  father-in-law  hanged  for  the 
murder. 

Near  Kurunegalla,  a  Singhalese  boy,  aged  twelve,  was 
strangled  by  Hatuhami,  a  Singhalese  man,  in  order  that  the 
murder  might  be  attributed  to  some  Buddhist  priests  with 
whom  he  was  at  enmity.  For  this,  Hatuhami  was  sen- 
tenced to  five  years'  hard  labour. 

Here  is  a  more  elaborate  story  of  a  case  which  occurred 
in  1879.  A  young  Singhalese  girl,  possessed  of  some  land, 
had  just  died.  Two  men  induced  another  Singhalese  girl  to 
personate  her,  and  to  appear  before  a  notary  and  make  over 
the  land  to  them.  The  fraud  was  discovered,  and  in  order 
to  prevent  the  whole  story  from  being  revealed,  the  men 
dra^yed  the  luckless  <iivl  niqht  after  night  from  one  iini'jle 
to  another,  till  she  told  them  that  life  was  a  burden  to  her ; 
whereupon  they  killed  her,  and  cut  off  her  head  to  prevent 
identification  in  case  the  body  should  be  found.  Found  it 
was,  and  identified  by  the  toes,  which  were  partially  webbed. 
The  men  were  hanged. 

One  is  struck  by  the  pitifully  small  temptation  which 


254  NATIVE    POLICE. 

results  in  such  cruel  murders.  For  instance,  Babiela,  a 
Singhalese  villager,  had  a  trifling  dispute  with  a  neighbour, 
and  knowing  that  he  possessed  jewels  worth  about  200 
rupees  (less  than  £20),  he  stole  quietly  into  the  house  at 
midnight,  and  cut  the  throats  of  the  man,  his  wife,  and 
four  children.     This  miscreant  was  hanged. 

I  will  only  quote  two  more  cases,  each  full  of  dramatic 
interest,  only  premising  that  though  all  the  names  are 
Portuguese,  all  the  dramatis  personce  are  pure  Singhalese. 
The  first  is  that  of  Miguel  Perera,  a  wealthy  and  influential 
Singhalese,  living  within  ten  miles  of  Colombo,  and  a  man 
popular  with  Europeans  because  of  his  pleasant  manners, 
and' on  account  of  his  great  energy  and  influence  among 
his  people.  When  anything  had  to  be  done  quickly,  such 
as  the  repair  of  a  road  or  the  decoration  of  a  town  to 
welcome  a  distinguished  visitor,  he  was  the  man  to  be 
depended  on.  For  these  good  services  he  received  from 
Government  the  title  of  Mudaliyar  of  Ragama. 

But  there  was  a  dark  side  to  this  attractive  person. 
In  his  private  life  he  was  unscrupulous  and  tyrannical, 
both  to  men  and  women,  and  when  one  day  he  was  found 
at  high  noon  lying  on  a  road  on  his  own  estate  with  his 
throat  cut,  the  investigation  proved  that  the  crime  had 
been  committed  by  some  of  his  own  retainers,  goaded  to 
madness  by  his  ill-usage,  one  detail  of  which  was  that 
after  cruelly  beating  a  man,  he  would  lock  him  up  for  the 
night  in  stocks,  which  he  kept  at  his  own  house. 

Four  men  were  apprehended,  and  the  evidence  would 
almost  undoubtedly  have  proved  them  to  be  the  murderers. 
But  it  seems  as  if  the  Singhalese  could  not  leave  justice 
to  prove  itself,  so  the  two  eldest  sons  of  the  dead  man  set 
to  work  to  torture  witnesses  in  order  to  fabricate  further 


SINGULAR   INSTANCES   OF   CRIME.  255 

evidence,  chiefly  with  a  view  to  implicate  an  enemy  of 
their  father's,  Louis  Mendis.  Tampering  with  witnesses 
is  an  everyday  occurrence,  but  torturing  them  is  going  a 
little  too  far;  so  when  this  conspiracy  came  to  light,  the 
tables  were  turned — the  murderers  were  acquitted,  and 
the  two  brothers  were  each  sentenced  to  three  years'  im- 
prisonment with  hard  labour. 

The  Louis  Mendis  just  mentioned  was  a  cart-contractor, 
living  at  Nawalapitiya,  in  the  Central  Province,  and  the 
quarrel  with  Miguel  Perera  was  due  to  the  latter  sending 
carters  all  the  way  from  the  coast  to  take  away  his  custom. 
Mendis,  not  unnaturally,  urged  his  own  men  to  beat  the 
intruders,  and  on  one  occasion,  when  he  had  primed  his 
men  with  much  arrack,  a  savage  encounter  occurred,  in 
which  a  young  carter  from  the  coast,  by  name  Juan  Fer- 
nando, was  said  to  have  hcen  hilled.  There  was  evidence 
of  Pernando  having  been  seen  wounded,  especially  on  the 
shoulder,  but  no  corpse  could  be  found,  and  Mendis  and 
his  party  averred  that  the  story  of  his  death  was  a  fabrica- 
tion in  order  to  damage  Mendis,  and  that  Perera  was  keep- 
ing Fernando  out  of  sight. 

Several  months  later  the  father  came  from  his  home  on 
the  coast  to  inform  the  police  that  he  could  point  out  the 
spot  where  his  son's  body  was  buried.  He  accordingly  led 
them  to  a  spot  in  the  jungle  some  miles  from  Nawalapitiya, 
and  there  they  found  the  headless  and  decomposed  corpse 
of  a  young  man  with  a  broken  shoulder-blade,  and  on  the 
body  was  found  the  waist-belt  of  the  missing  Juan  Fernando, 
with  his  initials  scratched  on  the  plate.  It  was  assumed 
that  the  body  had  been  carried  to  the  jungle,  and  there 
buried  by  a  carter  in  the  service  of  Mendis,  who,  liow- 
ever,  was  not  available  as  a  witness,  having  in  the  interval 


256  NATIVE    POLICE. 

been  hanged  for  stabbing  a  police  constable.  Consequently 
Mendis  and  his  men  were  punished  only  for  assault,  being 
sentenced  to  terms  of  imprisonment  with  hard  labour. 

They  maintain,  however,  that  Juan  i'ernando  is  still 
alive,  and  concealed  by  Perera's  party,  and  that  the  body 
was  one  taken  by  Perera's  order  from  some  graveyard, 
adorned  with  Fernando's  belt,  and  buried  in  the  jungle  in 
order  to  ruin  Mendis,  the  head  being  removed  in  order  to 
prevent  its  being  proved  that  the  body  was  not  that  of 
Fernando.  (Of  course  Perera's  people  say  the  head  was 
removed  to  prevent  identification ;  but  if  that  had  been  the 
case,  it  would  have  been  a  strange  oversight  to  leave  the 
belt  with  the  tell-tale  initials.) 

These  instances  may  suffice  to  give  some  idea  of  the 
chief  difficulty  which  attends  all  judicial  inquiries  in 
Ceylon,  namely,  that  of  dealing  with  a  race  who,  so  far 
from  attaching  any  disgrace  to  perjury,  consider  it  as  a  fine 
art,  and  that  the  courts  of  law  are  the  field  where  it  may  be 
most  effectually  and  brilliantly  practised.  Mr.  Campbell 
says,  "  Perjury  is  rampant  and  destructive,  Hooding  our 
courts  with  false  cases,  paralysing  their  action,  and  produc- 
ing grave  deterioration  of  character." 

In  his  recent  report  on  the  administration  of  police  in 
Ceylon,  Mr.  Giles  ^  observes :  "  The  most  dangerous  form  of 
crime  in  Ceylon,  and  that  which  perhaps  involves  the 
greatest  moral  turpitude,  is  the  proneness  of  the  people  to 
prefer  false  accusatioyis  and  to  bear  false  testimony.  No  man 
can  feel  safe  while  this  state  of  things  continues ;  and  the 
evils  are  by  no  means  confined  to  the  individuals  falsely 
accused.  The  prevalence  of  perjury  causes  the  judiciary 
to  reject  evidence  which  in  a  purer  atmosphere  would  be 
1  Deputy  Inspector-General  of  Police,  BengaL 


PERJURY    AS    A    FINE    ART.  257 

unhesitatingly  accepted,  and  criminals  benefit  by  this  re- 
luctance. The  courts  are  flooded  with  cases  'which  should 
never  come  before  them,  their  time  dissipated  in  vainly 
endeavouring  to  arrive  at  truth  where  all  is  falsehood,  and  a 
virtual  denial  of  justice  often  leads  to  the  perpetration  of 
fresh  crime." 

A  somewhat  striking  illustration  of  this  all-round  false- 
hood was  revealed  to  an  astonished  European  by  a  grateful 
client,  who  had  recently  won  a  case  to  the  utter  amazement 
of  his  adversary.  The  latter  had  brought  an  action  against 
him  for  the  recovery  of  a  large  sum  of  money,  for  which 
he  held  defendant's  bond.  There  were  reliable  witnesses  to 
prove  the  debt,  and  the  case  was  apparently  quite  clear,  till 
the  defendant  produced  the  plaintiff's  receipt  in  full  for 
the  sum  advanced  and  duly  repaid,  and  a  tribe  of  wit- 
nesses to  prove  the  authenticity  of  the  signature.  Nothing 
could  be  clearer,  and  the  case,  after  patient  hearing,  was 
dismissed. 

Now  came  the  surprising  revelation,  which  was  that  there 
had  been  no  money  lent  and  none  repaid ;  but  from  the 
moment  the  defendant  had  learnt  the  charge  that  was  to  be 
brought  against  him,  he  had  been  perfectly  aware  that  a 
bond  must  have  been  forged,  and  witnesses  bribed  to  attest 
it ;  therefore  (on  the  principle  of  "  diamond  cut  diamond  ") 
he  had  at  once  secured  the  services  of  a  skilful  forger  to 
prepare  the  receipt,  and  of  witnesses  to  attest  it,  and  had 
thus  by  foul  means  secured  the  justice  which  he  could  not 
have  obtained  by  fair  straightforward  action. 

This  is  a  fair  example  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
criminal  law  is  employed  as  "  an  engine  of  oppression 
rather  than  of  redress ; "  and  to  such  an  incredible  extent  is 
this  perversion  of  justice  carried,  that  in  his  report  for  1881 

VOL.  II.  H 


258  NATIVE    POLICE. 

Mr.  Campbell  says  that  from  95,000  to  110,000  persons  are 
each  year  apprehended  or  summoned  before  the  courts  and 
never  brought  to  trial,  showing  either  the  utter  frivolity 
of  the  cases,  or  that  the  complainants  or  witnesses,  or  both, 
have  been  bought  over. 

"  Even  these  figures,"  he  says,  "  large  as  they  are,  give  no 
idea  of  the  extent  to  which  the  machinery  of  justice  is  mis- 
used by  the  people  to  oppress  and  harass  each  other,  and 
actually  to  frustrate  justice  itself,  until  we  take  into  account 
the  cloud  of  witnesses  who  are  also  brought  up  by  summons 
and  warrants,  and  further  take  into  account  the  multiplied 
postponements  which  characterise  our  courts,  and  unless  we 
still  further  recollect  the  multitude  of  minor  cases  which 
are  annually  tried  by  the  Gansabhawa  or  village  tribunals. 
These,  in  the  course  of  the  year  1880,  numbered  no  less 
than  26,748. 

"  The  results  of  this  inordinate  misuse  of  the  courts  are 
the  impoverishment  of  the  people  both  by  a  waste  of  time 
and  by  actual  expenditure  on  worthless  crowds  of  self- 
styled  lawyers,  the  fostering  of  their  innate  love  of  litigation, 
the  encouraging  of  false  witnesses  and  perjury,  the  general 
demoralisation  which  follows  the  prostitution  of  courts  of 
justice,  and  the  obstruction  of  the  thorough  investigation 
and  punishment  of  serious  crime.  Better  that  a  man 
should  at  his  own  proper  peril  strike  a  blow  with  a  stick, 
or  even  with  a  knife,  than  that  by  making  false  and  mali- 
cious charges  he  should  make  a  court  of  justice  an  instru- 
ment for  inflicting  a  cowardly  blow.  The  blow  by  the 
court  is  quite  as  severe  as  the  other,  and  the  demoralisa- 
tion of  every  one  concerned  is  infinitely  greater."  It  has 
been  tersely  said  that  "perjury  is  made  so  complete  a  busi- 
ness that  cases  are  as  regularly  rehearsed  in  all  their  various 


PROFESSIONAL    PERJURERS.  259 

scenes  Idj  the  professional  perjurer  as  a  dramatic  piece  is 
at  a  theatre." 

Of  course,  when  it  is  so  impossible  for  a  judge  to  know 
who  or  what  to  believe,  true  evidence  is  constantly  rejected, 
criminals  escape,  and  innocent  people  suffer  unmerited  pun- 
ishment, or  at  least  retain  a  rankling  sense  of  injustice 
which  leads  to  retaliation,  either  in  the  form  of  false  charges 
in  court  or  of  criminal  violence. 

This  subject  impressed  itself  strongly  on  ]\Ir.  Campbell 
on  his  first  arrival  in  1866,  when,  at  the  court  at  ranaduru, 
out  of  six  hundred  cases  instituted  there  were  only  six  con- 
victions. Of  course  such  immunity  from  punishment  tends 
to  prevalence  of  crime,  the  chances  of  conviction  being  so 
small  that  heinous  offences  are  committed  with  little  risk  ; 
for  nothing  is  easier  than  to  bribe  all  the  witnesses,  and 
probably  the  headman,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to  prose- 
cute, and  sometimes  even  the  plaintifiF  himself  is  bribed  ! 

As  regards  the  headmen,  it  is  only  natural  that  they 
should  be  amenable  to  bribes,  for  instead  of  receiving  re- 
muneration for  helping  in  the  detection  of  crime  and  the 
capture  of  criminals,  by  doing  so  they  often  have  to  incur 
serious  expense  out  of  their  own  slender  means  ;  so  naturally 
it  conduces  both  to  their  ease  and  profit  to  screen  offenders. 

The  number  of  convictions  fluctuates  greatly,  not  from 
increase  or  decrease  of  crime,  but  according  to  tlie  varied  in- 
terpretation of  law  by  successive  Chief- Justices.  In  some 
years  the  interpretation  has  been  such  that  convictions  have 
been  almost  impossible,  and  so  the  most  glaring  criminals 
have  been  acquitted,  and  all  their  fraternity,  openly  laugh- 
ing at  the  police,  become  bold  beyond  measure.  Then  comes 
a  Chief-Justice  who  interprets  laws  differently ;  criminals 
find  their  deserts,  and  a  comparative  lull  ensues. 


260  NATIVE   POLICE. 

Mr.  Campbell  has  for  years  striven  to  effect  the  intro- 
duction of  various  simple  measures  with  a  view  to  lessening 
some  of  the  evils  complained  of.  Such  are  the  preliminary 
investigation  of  cases  ere  granting  warrants  and  summonses 
wholesale.  This  was  instituted  in  1872,  as  was  also  the  pay- 
ment of  a  trilling  stamp-duty,  amounting  only  to  15  cents 
on  each  criminal  charge  and  5  cents  on  each  subpoena  of  an 
accused  person,  or  of  one  summoned  as  a  witness. 

Incredible  as  it  may  seem,  these  petty  and  vexatious  cases, 
which  in  1871  had  numbered  68,832,  at  once  fell  to  46,701 
in  1872  !  That  stamp  fees  amounting  to  a  few  pence 
should  in  one  year  have  kept  22,131  cases  out  of  court  is 
good  proof  of  how  frivolous  and  false  were  the  pretexts  for 
litigation. 

Unfortunately,  in  1888  the  process  was  in  a  measure 
reversed.  The  25-cent  duty  was  taken  off  of  all  charges 
of  voluntarily  causing  hurt,  consequently  the  list  of  one 
class  of  cases  rose  in  one  year  from  6820  to  20,052,  mainly 
owing  to  utterly  frivolous,  and  certainly  in  most  cases  false 
charges ;  the  lesson  to  be  learnt  being  that  "  the  trifling 
tax  suffices  to  deter  a  large  number  of  vindictive,  idle, 
litigious  people  from  using  the  courts  as  engines  to  oppress 
their  neighbours." 

In  one  very  common  class  of  accusation,  against  which 
no  man  can  be  safe,  namely,  that  of  grave  immorality,  the 
whole  question  turns  on  which  man  can  bribe  the  largest 
number  of  false  witnesses,  and  the  innocent  accused  is  very 
often  obliged  to  purchase  safety  by  paying  his  accuser  to 
let  the  charge  drop. 

If  the  besetting  sin  of  the  Singhalese  is  their  inordinate  love 
of  litigation,  this  certainly  is  fostered  by  their  very  trouble- 
some law  of  inheritance,  which  results  in  such  minute  sub- 


PERPLEXING    LAW    OF    INHERITANCE/  261 

divisions  of  property  that  the  199th  share  of  a  field,  or  a 
50th  of  a  small  garden,  containing  perhaps  a  dozen  palms 
and  a  few  plaintains,  becomes  a  fruitful  source  of  legal 
contention,  quarrels,  and  crime.  Emerson  Tennant  alludes 
to  a  case  in  which  the  claim  was  for  the  2520th  share  in 
the  produce  of  ten  cocoa-palms  ! 

As  a  sample  of  this  sort  of  litigation,  the  Rev.  R.  Spence 
Hardy  quoted  an  instance  of  an  intricate  claim  on  dis- 
puted property,  in  which  the  case  of  the  plaintiff  was  as 
follows  : — "  By  inheritance  through  my  father  I  am  entitled 
to  one-fourth  of  one-third  of  one-eighth.  Through  my 
mother  I  am  further  entitled  to  one-fourth  of  one-third  of 
one-eighth.  By  purchase  from  one  set  of  co-heirs  I  am 
entitled  to  one-ninety-sixth,  from  another  set  also  one- 
ninety-sixth,  and  from  a  third  set  one-ninety-sixth  more. 
Finally,  from  a  fourth  set  of  co-heirs  I  have  purchased  the 
144th  of  the  whole."  There  is  a  nice  question  to  solve  ere 
a  landowner  can  begin  to  till  his  field  or  reap  its  produce. 

But  though  these  difficult  questions  must  always  have 
proved  a  fruitful  source  of  contention,  it  is  only  in  recent 
years  that  the  number  of  gentlemen  of  the  legal  profession 
has  increased  so  enormously.  Mr.  Spence  Hardy,  writing 
in  1864,  stated  that  sixty  years  previously  there  were  in 
the  Isle  only  two  Dutchmen  who  did  the  whole  work  of 
advocates.  Even  in  that  time  the  number  had  increased  to 
16  advocates,  135  proctors,  and  144  notaries. 

Now,  as  we  enter  on  the  last  decade  of  the  century,  there 
are  about  300  advocates  and  proctors,  and  solicitors  and 
notaries  have  increased  in  proportion,  besides  an  incalcu- 
lable brood  of  self-styled  lawyers  of  the  lowest  species,  who 
infest  every  village  tribunal,  "  outdoor  proctors,"  as  they 
are  called,  who  gain  their  own  living  by  inciting  the  people 


262  NATIVE    POLICE. 

to  litigation,  till  the  whole  country  is  flooded  with  warrants 
and  summonses,  resulting  in  a  large  proportion  of  the  popu- 
lation spending  their  time  either  in  the  courts  or  on  the 
road  between  them  and  their  houses,  greatly  to  their  own 
impoverishment. 

It  is,  perhaps,  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  so  many  favour 
a  profession  in  which  the  highest  honours  are  equally  open 
to  all  without  distinction  of  race — Singhalese  or  Tamil,  Por- 
tuguese or  Dutch,  Eurasian  or  European,  have  equal  chances 
in  the  race  for  distinction  as  barristers,  magistrates,  or  judges. 

In  looking  over  the  list  of  these  legal  names,  I  am  much 
struck  by  observing  how  curiously  certain  names  predomi- 
nate in  certain  districts.  Thus  among  the  notaries  in  the 
Southern  Province  I  find  twenty-one  De  Silvas,  distin- 
guished by  such  high-sounding  first  names  as  Goonewardene, 
Sameresingha,  Wickremanaike,  Piajakuruna,  &c.  Turning 
to  the  Colombo  district,  I  find  in  succession  fourteen  of  the 
family  of  Perera  with  such  Christian  names  as  Andris, 
Juan,  Paulus,  Manual,  &c.  Of  the  multitude  of  De  and 
Don  there  is  no  end,  by  no  means  necessarily  implying 
Portuguese  descent,  but  because  so  many  of  the  families  of 
purest  Singhalese  and  Kandyan  blood  took  these  names 
from  the  god-father  of  their  Christian  baptism ;  thus  we 
have  Don  Philip  De  Alvis,  Don  Charles  Appuhamy,  Don 
Carolis  Senevaratna,  Don  Francisco  "VVeresakara,  Don  Joha- 
nis  Amarasakara,  Domingo  De  Mendis.^ 

1  I  trust  these  gentlemen  will  pardon  my  quoting  real  names  to  illustrate 
an  interesting  subject. 

As  a  sample  of  pleasant  names  for  daily  use,  I  cannot  resist  quoting  a 
paragraph  from  a  Ceylon  paper  ■which  happens  to  be  lying  before  me  : — 

"  A  MuRDEREK  Wanted. — Induruwabadahelage  Jema  of  Talawala,  charged 
with  the  murder,  on  July  20th  last,  of  one  Pepiliyanebadahelage  Barlis  Barbos, 
has  fled  from  justice.  A  large  reward  is  offered  for  such  information  as  shall 
lead  to  his  apprehension  and  conviction." 


TOO    MANY    LAWYERS.  263 

Some  historical  suggestion  may  perhaps  be  gathered 
from  the  geographical  distribution  of  these  names.  Thus 
in  the  list  of  notaries  for  the  district  of  Colombo,  I  observe 
nine  with  the  prefix  De,  and  upward  of  forty  with  that 
of  Don.  In  Kalutara,  out  of  fifty-one,  twenty-three  own 
these  honorific  prefixes.  Ratnapura  has  sixteen  notaries,  not 
one  prefix.  In  the  Central  Province  a  dozen  in  a  hundred 
are  thus  distinguished.  In  the  Eastern  and  Xorthern  Pro- 
vinces, including  Batticaloa,  Trincomalee,  Jaffna,  and  Manaar, 
there  is  not  one.  In  the  Southern  Province,  out  of  a  total 
of  about  fifty,  twenty-four  are  De  and  only  one  Don.  In 
the  North-West  Province,  Chilaw  owns  one  in  fifteen,  and 
Kurunegalla,  out  of  a  list  of  twenty-seven,  furnishes  one  Don. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  whether  the  names 
accepted  in  the  last  century  as  a  passport  to  State  employ- 
ment retain  any  special  traditionary  interest  for  their  pre- 
sent owners. 

Where  so  many  have  elected  to  earn  their  own  bread  by 
fosterinfj  the  natural  love  of  litigation  amoucj  their  countrv- 
men,  it  follows  that  the  blessing  of  the  peacemakers  is  the 
last  thing  to  be  desired,  and  the  longer  a  case  can  be  spun 
out,  and  the  oftener  it  is  postponed,  the  better  for  the 
lawyers.  In  this  respect  matters  have  not  mended  since, 
in  1849,  Major  Thomas  Skinner  wrote:  "The  prevailing 
system  of  our  district  courts  admits  of  the  proctors  feed- 
ing upon  their  clients  for  years.  ...  I  have  seen  instances 
wherein  the  judicial  stamps  have  far  exceeded  the  value  of 
the  case  under  adjudication,  and  which,  by  numberless  vexa- 
tious postponements,  have  been  protracted  over  a  period 
of  many  years,  to  the  ruin  of  both  plaintiff  and  defendant — 
the  proctors  by  their  fees,  and  the  Government  by  the  sale 
of  judicial  stamps,  being  tlie  only  gainers." 


264  NATIVE   POLICE. 

For  one  thing,  criminal  cases  are  constantly  brought  to 
court  so  ill  prepared  as  to  necessitate  being  postponed  again 
and  again,  thus  wasting  the  time  of  magistrates,  prosecutors, 
and  witnesses. 

Another  thing  by  which  the  business  of  the  courts  is 
very  unnecessarily  delayed  is  by  the  invariable  employment 
of  magistrate's  interpreters.  In  India,  where  in  each  Pre- 
sidency there  are  so  many  different  languages,  each  magis- 
trate is  bound  to  master  whatever  is  requisite  for  the 
conduct  of  his  own  court,  interpreters  being  only  employed 
in  the  supreme  courts.  In  Ceylon,  although  there  are  only 
two  native  languages,  in  which  every  newcomer  has  to  pass 
examinations,  every  word  spoken  in  court,  every  question 
and  every  answer,  must  be  repeated  through  an  interpreter, 
just  doubling  the  work  and  the  time  expended. 

Among  the  cases  which  call  for  considerable  detective 
skill  are  those  of  forging  bank-notes  and  coins,  the  former 
being  generally  the  joint- work  of  professional  engravers  and 
surveyors,  while  the  false  rupees,  though  generally  manu- 
factured by  Singhalese  goldsmiths,  are  occasionally  proved 
to  be  the  handiwork  of  Buddhist  priests,  who  have  acquired 
the  requisite  skill  by  casting  images  of  Buddha !  The 
Buddhist  priests  are  said  to  be  the  chief  money-lenders  and 
usurers,  and  it  is  whispered  that  they  contribute  rather  a 
large  proportion  to  the  catalogue  of  felons,  though,  to  avoid 
scandal,  they  are  generally  unrobed  before  trial.  Some  years 
ago,  however,  one  was  hanged  in  full  canonicals,  just  to  show 
that  British  law  is  no  respecter  of  persons. 

As  regards  deaths  from  violence  or  accident,  the  statistics 
for  1889  show  that  during  that  year  inquests  were  held  in 
the  Isle  on  the  bodies  of  2166  persons.  But  there  must 
have  been  many  more  whose  deaths  was  never  heard  of — 


REGISTRATION    OF    SERVANTS    COMPULSORY.        265 

men  and  women  who  from  sickness  or  weakness  perished 
by  lonely  roadsides,  or  were  killed  by  wild  beasts  in  jungles, 
or  murdered  and  secretly  buried,  to  say  nothing  of  those 
drowned  in  the  sea,  the  rivers,  lakes,  and  tanks. 

Among  the  details  of  these  deaths  are  125  suicides,  of 
whom  21  drowned  themselves  and  the  rest  hanged  them- 
selves;  121  died  from  snake-bites,  87  by  accidentally 
drowning  in  rivers  and  tanks,  13L  by  falling  into  wells, 
383  by  falling  from  trees,  and  33  from  gunshot  wounds. 
(The  increasing  misuse  of  firearms  forms  a  notable  feature 
in  recent  police  reports.)  Almost  every  year  wild  beasts  are 
responsible  for  a  certain  proportion  of  deaths ;  bears,  elephants, 
chetahs,  boars,  buffaloes,  alligators,  and  even  hornets  and 
bees,  each  doing  their  part  in  thus  thinning  the  population. 

To  glance  at  the  pleasanter  aspects  of  police-work  in 
Ceylon,  one  of  Mr.  Campbell's  most  successful  schemes 
has  been  the  Servants'  Registration  Ordinance,  by  which 
every  servant  is  bound  to  have  a  pocket  register,  in  which 
his  antecedents  are  recorded,  as  are  also  the  beginning  and 
end  of  each  new  service,  and  the  character  he  has  acquired 
in  each.  The  registrars  are  assistant-superintendents  of 
police.  The  scheme  has  proved  invaluable  in  the  preven- 
tion of  one  of  the  commonest  forms  of  burglary,  made  easy 
by  the  connivance  of  servants. 

Alas  !  here  as  elsewhere  familiarity  with  the  white  race 
does  not  always  tend  to  raise  them  in  the  veneration  of  their 
brown  brothers.  Mr.  Campbell  says  :  "  The  days  have  gone 
by  in  which  we  could  leave  the  house-door  unbarred  during 
the  night.  Much  of  the  old  contentedness  and  of  the  old 
respect  for  the  European  has  gone,  and  new  wants  and  ex- 
citements— amongst  them  drinking  and  gambling — must  be 
satisfied." 


266  NATIVE    POLICE. 

In  a  country  whose  wealth  consists  so  largely  in  its  crops, 
these,  of  course,  are  a  continual  source  of  temptation  to 
thieves,  not  only  in  the  wide  extent  of  growing  crops,  which 
it  is  scarcely  possible  for  planters  to  guard,  but  still  more 
when  these  are  gathered  and  travelling  from  the  store  to  the 
market.  Take,  for  instance,  the  transport  of  coffee  from 
a  plantation  in  Uva  to  Colombo,  a  distance  of  perhaps  two 
hundred  miles,  by  road,  river,  and  either  lake  or  rail.  Each 
cart-load  is  worth  about  1000  rupees,  each  boat-load  about 
10,000  rupees. 

Under  the  old  system  each  cart-load  was  intrusted  to 
the  sole  care  of  a  carter,  and  each  boat-load  to  that  of  a 
crew,  of  whom,  in  either  case,  "  the  senders  generally  knew 
absolutely  nothing,  and  in  whose  honesty  they  had  every 
cause  to  disbelieve ! "  The  consequence  was  that  whole 
cart-loads  sometimes  disappeared.  In  one  case  the  police 
had  the  satisfaction  of  convicting  a  carter  and  a  native 
agent  who  had  thus  appropriated  400  bushels  of  coffee, 
valued  at  4500  rupees  !  Less  audacious  thieves  were  con- 
tent with  freely  helping  themselves  from  the  coffee-bags. 
These  carts  were  lost  sight  of  for  weeks ;  and  the  coffee 
which  travelled  from  Eatnapura  to  Colombo  by  river,  canal, 
and  lake  was  at  the  mercy  of  the  boatmen,  who  could  halt 
for  as  many  days  as  they  saw  fit,  and  call  the  aid  of  their 
families  to  manipulate  it  as  they  pleased. 

So  that  throughout  its  long  journey  the  coffee  was  sub- 
ject to  pilfering  at  the  hands  of  drivers,  boatmen,  and 
other  depredators,  who  sometimes  stole  half  the  good  beans 
and  filled  up  the  sacks  with  inferior  ones,  or  else  made  up 
weight  and  bulk  by  swelling  the  remainder  with  water,  so 
that  it  reached  the  London  market  deteriorated  in  colour 
and  in  value. 


REGISTRATION    OF    CARTS    AND    DOGS.  2G7 

To  counteract  this  mischief,  Mr.  Campbell  devised  a  simple 
and  very  effectual  system  of  cart  registration.  He  estab- 
lished police-stations  at  regular  intervals  along  the  road 
and  river  from  Eatnapura  to  Kalutara  (whence  the  sea- 
coast  railway  conveys  the  freight  to  Colombo),  and  each 
loaded  cart  or  boat  is  compelled  to  report  itself  at  each 
of  these  stations,  whence  the  exact  date  of  its  arrival  and 
start  is  intimated  day  by  day  to  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
at  Colombo.  Thus  the  precious  produce  is  under  strict 
care  throughout  its  journey,  and  theft  becomes  well-nigh 
impossible. 

The  regulation  of  pilgrimages  and  the  strict  sanitation  of 
pilgrim  camps  is  another  of  the  schemes  devised  and  excel- 
lently enforced  by  Mr.  Campbell,  thereby  preventing  a  very 
large  amount  of  suffering  and  mortality,  and  the  too  pro- 
bable development  of  cholera  in  the  Isle. 

The  system  of  police  registration  of  all  dogs  is  so  rigidly 
enforced  in  the  principal  towns,  that  Ceylon  is  in  a  great 
measure  exempt  from  hydrophobia.  Each  registered  dog 
must  wear  a  stamped  municipal  collar,  obtained  by  his 
owner  on  payment  of  a  small  fee,  and  any  luckless  dogs 
not  provided  with  this  safeguard  are  captured  and  carried 
in  a  large  cage  on  wheels  to  a  pond,  where,  unless  claimed 
within  forty-eight  hours,  they  are  either  shot  or  drowned 
(by  bodily  immersing  the  cage  in  water). 

A  matter  which  has  involved  much  care  and  thought  has 
been  how  to  check  cruelty  to  animals  in  this  land,  where 
(by  the  teaching  of  Buddha  being  carried  out  in  the  letter 
and  utterly  neglected  in  the  spirit)  life  must  not  be  taken 
— at  least  not  the  life  of  lower  animals,  for  that  of  human 
beings  is  by  no  means  so  secure  !  But  suflering  is  of  no 
consequence.      The  cruelty  so  common  in  Ceylon   is   nut 


2G8  NATIVE    POLICE. 

wanton,  as  in  too  many  countries,  but  seems  to  arise  from 
sheer  callousness  to  the  tortures  which  are  carelessly  inflicted 
on  poor  suSering  creatures.  Thus  deer,  hares,  snipe,  doves, 
&c.,  badly  wounded  and  with  broken  bones,  are  kept  alive 
for  days  and  hawked  about  in  hopes  of  obtaining  a  sale. 
Six  or  eight  fowls  are  tightly  tied  together  by  the  feet,  and 
are  then  strung,  head  downwards,  from  the  ends  of  a  stick 
balanced  on  the  shoulder,  and  are  thus  carried  for  miles, 
cackling  in  anguish,  till  they  are  too  weak  and  suSering  to 
do  so  any  more.  Even  the  lovely  little  green  parroquets 
are  not  exempt  from  cruel  treatment.  Large  numbers  are 
captured  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Chilaw,  and  crammed  into 
mat  bags,  the  mouth  of  which  is  tied  up,  and  these  are 
carried,  slung  from  the  ends  of  a  stick,  all  the  way  to 
Colombo,  where  the  survivors  find  a  ready  market. 

Fat  pigs  are  thus  fastened  to  a  stick,  carried  between 
two  men,  the  cord  by  which  their  poor  legs  are  tied  cutting 
deep  into  the  flesh,  and  causing  such  pain  that  the  wretched 
pig  sometimes  dies  ere  reaching  his  destination.  The  sys- 
tem of  branding  cattle  by  burning  elaborate  patterns  all 
over  them  (to  the  destruction  of  the  hide)  is  justified  by 
the  plea  that  doing  so  prevents  rheumatism.  Whether  it 
does  so  or  not,  it  assuredly  causes  the  poor  beast  excruci- 
ating agony. 

Worst  of  all  is  the  barbarity,  formerly  commonly  prac- 
tised in  the  open  market,  and  not  yet  wholly  put  down,  of 
selling  large  live  turtles  piecemeal,  each  purchaser  pointing 
out  the  exact  slice  he  desired,  while  the  wretched  fellow- 
creature  lay  writhing  and  gasping  in  agony  for  hours,  till 
the  last-comer  came  to  claim  the  heart  and  head,  the  latter 
being  the  only  \atal  part ;  for,  wonderful  to  tell,  turtles  con- 
tinue to  live  and  sufler  after  the  heart  has  been  cut  out. 


PREVENTION    OF    CRCELTY    TO    ANIMALS.  2G9 

The  commonest  form  in  which  cruelty  is  now  apparent 
is  in  over-driving  wretched  worn-out  horses,  which  are  too 
often  brutally  beaten  to  make  them  drag  weights  far  beyond 
their  strength. 

In  1862  a  law  was  enacted  for  the  protection  of  domestic 
animals,  elephants,  and  turtles,  but  it  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  strictly  enforced  till  about  ten  years  ago.  In 
1881,  however,  the  police  were  exhorted  to  greater  dili- 
gence in  this  matter,  with  such  excellent  effect  that  since 
that  date  there  have  been  upwards  of  3000  convictions 
under  this  head.  Moreover,  a  strong  Society  for  the  Pre- 
vention of  Cruelty  to  Animals  has  now  been  formed,  which 
it  is  hoped  will  prove  a  valuable  auxiliary  to  the  police. 
In  the  first  six  months  of  1891  it  secured  convictions  of 
cruelty  against  229  persons  in  Colombo  alone. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  duties  of  the  police,  a  severe 
strain  of  work  occasionally  arises  from  external  causes.  Such 
was  the  famine  in  Southern  India  in  1377,  from  which  time 
till  1880  thousands  of  poor  starved  creatures  found  their 
way  to  Ceylon,  hoping  to  obtain  employment  on  the  estates, 
but  who  from  weakness  and  illness  were  totally  unable  to 
work. 

These  helpless  creatures,  men,  women,  and  children,  re- 
duced by  starvation  to  mere  apathy,  were  collected  from 
the  roadsides.  Hundreds  were  found  dead  or  dying,  and 
received  decent  burial.  The  survivors  were  carried  to 
temporary  hospitals,  where  they  were  cared  for  and  fed  till 
they  were  able  to  work  or  travel,  when  they  were  heljied 
on  their  journey,  the  naked  being  furnished  with  needful 
clothing,  and  free  passages  to  India  provided  for  such  as 
longed  to  return  to  their  own  homes.  So  cheaply  was  this 
managed,  that  the    average   cost  of  the  journey    for   each 


270  NATIVE    POLICE. 

coolie  was  under  two  rupees.  Food  for  the  voyage  was 
also  provided,  and  a  small  sum  to  keep  them  from  starva- 
tion on  their  journey  from  the  coast  to  their  own  village. 

A  very  onerous  "  occasional  duty "  is  the  care  of  the 
pearl-fishery,  as  may  well  be  imagined,  were  it  only  in 
guarding  the  sanitation  of  the  huge  camp  of  10,000  persons 
on  the  arid  sea-beach,  to  which  are  daily  brought  millions 
of  oysters  to  putrefy  in  the  burning  sun.  The  presence  of 
about  sixty  police  is  required  for  about  eighty  days,  during 
which  they  have  charge  of  everything.  They  must  strictly 
guard  the  only  available  drinking-water;  they  are  responsible 
for  the  orderly  and  punctual  start  of  all  the  boats,  number- 
ing about  two  hundred,  and  for  seeing  that  each  is  escorted 
by  a  member  of  the  civil  boatguard,  who  must  never  sail 
twice  with  the  same  tindal  and  crew.  The  boats  start 
at  midnight  and  return  the  following  afternoon,  when  the 
oysters  are  carried  ashore  in  baskets,  and  the  European 
police  have  to  keep  close  watch  during  the  unloading,  and 
then,  in  all  weather,  to  wade  out  and  search  the  boats  to 
see  that  no  oysters  have  been  secreted.  They  must  also 
ceaselessly  guard  the  enclosure  within  which  the  precious 
shells  are  stored,  for  when  an  uncomfortable  oyster  gapes, 
and  reveals  a  tempting  pearl,  there  are  plenty  of  eager 
coolies  ready  to  snatch  it  up  and  swallow  it,  or,  if  it  is 
small  enough,  they  might  conceal  it  under  a  long  finger- 
nail. But  so  well  do  the  police  guard  the  treasure,  that 
there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  either  the  pearls  or  the 
large  sums  of  money  brought  for  their  purchase  are  ever 
stolen. 

Having  discoursed  at  such  length  on  the  police  and 
their  manifold  duties,  I  may  add  that  Ceylon  has  now 
also  a  very  efficient  volunteer  regiment — the  Ceylon  Light 


CEYLON    LIGHT    INFANTRY    CORPS.  271 

Infantry  Corps,  which  in  1885  numbered  930,  including 
ofi&cers.  Like  the  police,  this  force  is  composed  of  repre- 
sentatives of  all  the  nationalities  on  the  Isle,  namely,  200 
British-born,  454  Eurasians,  86  Malays,  53  Tamils,  107 
Singhalese,  and  33  others.  The  headquarters  of  the  force 
are  at  Colombo,  but  companies  are  stationed  at  Kaudy, 
Badulla,  and  Kurunegalla. 

Long  may  it  be  ere  they  are  called  out  to  defend  the 
beautiful  Isle  against  foreign  foes  ! 

^  Since  the  retirement  of  Sir  G.  W.  R.  Campbell  from  public  service,  the 
police  force  in  each  province  has  been  placed  under  the  direction  of  the 
Government  Agent,  who  is  held  responsible  for  the  suppression  of  crime  and 
for  the  maintenance  of  order.  Under  these  circumstances,  there  is  room 
for  hope  that  there  will  henceforth  be  less  zeal  in  promoting  a  more  extensive 
sale  of  arrack. 


079 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

IN    THE    PLANTING    DISTRICTS, 

Kurunegalla— Monastery  of  Lanka  Tileka— On  AUegalla  Peak— A 
footprint — Gangarowa — In  the  planting  districts — The  Wilder- 
ness of  the  Peak  in  1849  and  now — Lack  of  fuel — King  Coffee  versus 
King  Tea — Insect  foes — Cacao — A  planter's  cares — Sick  coolies — 
Names  of  estates. 

Among  the  various  cities  which  in  ancient  and  mediaeval 
ages  successively  ranked  as  the  capital  of  the  Isle  are 
Kurunegalla,  anciently  called  Hastisailapura,  and  Gampola, 
formerly  called  Ganga-sri-pura,  "  the  sacred  city  beside  the 
river."  The  former,  which  is  58  miles  from  Colombo,  was 
the  Royal  residence  and  that  of  the  precious  Tooth  from 
A.D.  1319  to  A.D.  1347,  when  Gampola  had  its  turn. 

Taking  the  train  from  Colombo  to  Polgahawella  station, 
a  crowded  native  coach  carried  me  thence  to  Kurunegalla, 
"  the  beetle  rock,"  which  is  so  named  from  a  huge  almost 
bare  mass  of  reddish  gneiss  rock,  shaped  like  a  gigantic 
beetle.  The  country  hereabouts  is  doted  with  these 
enormous  red  rounded  rocks,  one  of  which  bears  some 
resemblance  to  a  kneeling  elephant,  and  is  hence  called 
Aetagalla,  "  the  rock  of  the  tusk  elephant."  It  is  a  goodly 
mass,  three  miles  in  length,  and  towers  to  a  height  of  600 
feet  above  the   plain  and  1096  above  the  sea.     The  pretty 


KURUNEGALLA.  273 

little  town  and  lake  lie  at  the  base  of  the  great  rock,  which 
is  of  just  the  same  character  as  that  at  Dambool  and  others 
which  we  had  seen  on  the  way  to  Anuradhapura.  Here  the 
zoological  suggestions  include  an  "  Eel  Rock  "  and  a  "  Tor- 
toise Hock." 

The  country  from  which  rise  these  cyclopean  boulders 
of  red  rock  is  a  level  expanse  of  fertile  rice-land,  inter- 
spersed with  palms  and  all  the  vegetation  of  the  hottest 
districts ;  for  hot  it  is  in  truth,  as  is  evident  from  the  great 
tree-cactuses  which  flourish  in  the  crevices  of  the  rock. 

An  important  industry  of  this  district  is  plumbago-mining, 
or  rather  pit-digging,  as  it  has  hitherto  been  carried  on  some- 
what superficially  by  native  merchants.  Hundreds  of  men 
are,  how'ever,  employed,  and  thousands  of  tons  are  annually 
brought  hence  to  Colombo. 

The  Government  Agent's  house,  in  wliich  I  was  hos- 
pitably entertained — a  pleasant  red-tiled  bungalow,  with 
wide  white-pillared  verandah — occupies  the  site  of  the 
Maligawa,  the  ancient  palace  of  the  kings  of  Kandy,  as 
is  attested  by  suggestive  sculptured  stones  and  fragments 
of  pillars,  a  favourite  resting-place  for  peacocks  of  splendid 
plumage. 

But  more  striking  than  these  are  the  majestic  trees 
which  cover  the  ground  as  in  a  magnificent  park,  their 
huge  stems  supported  by  wide-spreading  roots,  wliich  cover 
the  ground  for  a  very  wide  radius,  forming  buttresses  like 
low  walls.  Some  of  these  ai'e  so  deep  that  a  man  standing 
near  the  base  of  the  tree  can  only  just  rest  his  arm  on 
one  of  the  roots.  The  most  remarkable  of  these  are  the 
Kon  and  Labu  trees ;  there  are  also  great  India-rubber 
trees,  whose  roots,  though  not  forming  such  high  walls,  are 
equally  remarkable  and  labyrinthine. 

VOL.   II.  S 


271<  IN    THE    PLANTING    DISTRICTS. 

The  town  is  little  more  than  a  village  with  native  bazaar 
and  neat  bungalows,  each  in  a  pleasant  garden,  inhabited 
chiefly  by  Burghers  of  Dutch  and  Portuguese  extraction. 
Steep  paths  and  rock-hewn  steps  lead  to  the  summit  of  the 
rock,  near  which  is  a  level  space  between  two  shoulders  of 
rock — a  green  oasis  of  cocoa-palms  and  other  fruit-trees, 
among  which  stands  a  large  dagoba  containing  a  model  of 
the  holy  footprint  on  Adam's  Peak  (the  Peak  itself,  about 
forty  miles  distant,  being  visible  from  this  point).  Pilgrims 
come  liere  from  all  parts  of  the  island,  partly  to  visit  some 
ruins  on  the  extreme  summit,  which  are  those  of  a  temple 
wherein  P)uddha's  venerated  Tooth  was  stored  during  four 
reie:ns,  after  it  had  been  brought  here  from  Pollanarua  in 
A.D.  1319. 

Of  course,  the  view  from  this  isolated  height  is  very 
extensive  and  very  fine,  but  the  heat  radiating  from  the 
sun-scorched  rocks  was  well-nigh  unbearable,  and  sugges- 
tive of  sunstroke,  which,  however,  strange  to  say,  is  of  very 
rare  occurrence  in  Ceylon.  I  was  glad  to  descend  to  the 
cool  shade  of  the  great  trees,  and  to  drive  at  sunset  beside 
the  still  lake  and  its  lilies.  We  went  to  call  on  the 
Moodliar,  to  see  a  bright  yellow  parroquet,  which  is  quite 
unique.  It  was  captured  in  a  flock  of  the  usual  bright  eme- 
rald-green ones,  which  abound  here,  as  elsewhere,  through- 
out the  low  country. 

A  few  days  later  found  me  at  Gampola,  which  for  a  little 
season  succeeded  Kurunegalla  as  capital  of  Ceylon.  It  is 
a  very  pretty  place,  and  I  have  happy  memories  of  pleasant 
evenings  of  peaceful  boating  on  the  lovely  bamboo-fringed 
river ;  but  on  this  occasion  I  only  halted  here  on  my  way 
with  friends  to  visit  the  very  interesting  ancient  Bud- 
dhist temple  of  Lanka  Tileka,  which  was  erected  by  King 


TEMPLE    OF    LAXKA    TILEKA.  275 

Bhuwaneka-Baliu  IV.  iu  a.d.  1344.  In  Ceylon  a  temple 
■u'tiich  has  only  stood  for  five  centuries  is  comparatively 
modern,  but  this  one  is  at  least  old  enough  to  be  exceed- 
ingly picturesque,  with  walls,  partly  red,  partly  white, 
several  storeys  high,  and  high-pitched  roofs  with  dull-red 
tiles. 

It  is  most  beautifully  situated  on  the  crown  of  a  great 
mass  of  red  rock,  which  rises  in  the  centre  of  a  rock  basin 
like  an  inverted  cup  standing  in  a  bowl.  I  own  the  simile 
is  not  romantic,  but  it  just  describes  how  the  grand  rock 
rises  from  the  deep  circular  valley,  all  devoted  to  rice-fields, 
which  at  the  time  of  my  visit  were  flooded,  like  innumerable 
blue  curving  lakes,  separated  by  their  embankments. 

With  the  exception  of  the  bare  summit,  on  which  the 
monastery  stands  so  conspicuously,  the  whole  basin  is  densely 
clothed  with  the  most  luxuriant  tropical  vegetation  that 
can  be  conceived.  From  a  dense  undergrowth  of  huge 
plantain  and  banana  leaves  tower  clusters  of  tall  areca, 
kitool,  cocoa,  and  various  other  palms,  with  here  and  there 
a  magnificent  talipat-palm  rearing  its  stately  head  far 
above  its  fellows,  or  else  a  dark  bread-fruit  or  jak  tree. 
(The  kitool  is  the  palm  with  fronds  like  gigantic  maiden- 
hair fern.)  In  short,  all  manner  of  fruit  and  flower  bearing 
trees  flourish  in  perfection  in  this  sheltered  valley. 

We  drove  as  far  as  wheels  could  travel,  and  there  bearers, 
with  a  wicker  arm-chair  securely  attached  to  bamboos,  were 
in  readiness  to  carry  me  the  rest  of  the  way.  The  Govern- 
ment Agent  had  kindly  sent  instructions  to  the  Katama- 
hatmeya,  the  great  local  authority,  who,  with  permi.ssion 
of  the  chief  priest,  had  prepared  for  us  the  Bana  ^fadoowa, 
or  preaching-hall,  which  stands  a  short  distance  below  the 
temple.      Here  we   found   two   comfortable   bedrooms   and 


276  IN    TilE    PLANTING    DISTRICTS. 

dining-room  hung  with  calico,  and  otherwise  ready  for  us. 
Strange  to  say,  only  one-fifth  of  this  temple  is  in  the  hands 
of  the  Buddhists.  The  other  four  parts  are  deivali  or 
Hindoo,  to  which,  we  were  told,  there  was  "no  admittance," 
and  that  even  the  Buddhist  priests  might  not  or  would 
not  enter. 

I  regretted  this  the  less,  as  the  exterior  is  so  picturesque 
that  I  gladly  devoted  all  my  time  to  secure  a  large  sketch 
of  the  wliole  scene  from  across  the  valley,  in  presence  of 
a  crowd  of  Singhalese  women  and  children,  who,  however, 
tied  at  every  heavy  rain-shower.  The  leeches  were  not  so 
easily  routed,  and  were  most  persistent  in  their  attentions ; 
but  one  cannot  have  such  glorious  vegetation  without  some 
drawbacks,  and  the  loveliness  of  the  clear  moonlight  fully 
compensated  for  the  tearful  day. 

One  of  the  temple  buildings  is  edged  with  extremely 
effective  hanging  tiles  edging  the  upper  roof.  Each  forms 
a  right  angle,  the  ornamental  front  being  about  fifteen 
inches  in  length,  decorated  with  a  flower  scroll  and  imaginary 
lion.  Some  of  these  had  fallen  (for  the  place  was  much 
neglected),  and,  with  consent  of  the  priest,  I  carried  one 
back  to  Britain,  thinking  that  some  one  would  be  glad  of 
the  design  as  a  decorative  touch  for  a  school  or  fancy 
dairy ;  but  it  only  found  a  welcome  in  a  museum,  I  think 
at  Inverness. 

Returning  by  rail  from  Gampola  to  Kaduganawa  station, 
I  was  there  met  by  very  kind  friends,  who  had  brought 
a  chair  fastened  to  bamboos,  and  a  party  of  luggage-coolies 
to  carry  me  and  my  goods  to  their  delightful  bungalow 
(Oolanakanda),  perched  far  up  the  steep  face  of  Allegalla 
Peak.  The  many  pleasant  days  which  on  several  occasions 
I  spent  in  that  sweet  home,  with  its  music  and  flowers  and 


AT  HOME  ON  ALLEOALLA  PEAK.        277 

sunny  faces,  are  among  my  happiest  memories  of  Ceylon. 
I  only  wish  it  were  possible  for  words  to  convey  something 
of  the  charm  of  such  surroundings,  of  majestic  crags,  clear 
streams,  and  fruit-bearing  trees,  with  varied  cultivation, 
chietly  coffee,  on  the  most  impossible- looking  ground — so 
steep  and  rocky ;  and  all  this  at  such  a  height  that,  looking 
up  from  the  railway  far  below,  one  could  only  imagine  an 
eagle's  eerie  perched  at  such  a  height. 

Of  course  the  outlook  thence  was  a  dream  of  delight, 
whether  on  clear  days,  when  each  field  in  the  great  culti- 
vated plain  well-nigh  two  thousand  feet  below  us,  and  each 
farthest  mountain  peak,  was  faultlessly  defined;  or  when, 
as  occasionally  in  the  early  mornings,  the  whole  valley  was 
hidden  by  fleecy  clouds  of  rolling  mist,  like  a  vast  sea, 
dotted  with  dark  wooded  isles,  which  are  the  summits  of 
hills.  So  steep  was  the  hill-face,  that  it  seemed  as  though 
we  could  almost  have  thrown  pebbles  from  those  cool 
heights  to  alight  in  the  tropics  only  a  trifle  above  the  sea- 
level. 

One  day  we  climbed  to  the  very  summit  of  the  Peak 
(3394  feet  above  the  sea),  there  to  inspect  a  large  artificial 
hollow  in  the  rock  in  imitation  of  Buddha's  footprint  on 
Adam's  Peak.  This  one  is  well  defined,  and  makes  no 
pretension  to  being  genuine.  It  is  simply  representative, 
and  worshippers  who  cannot  make  pilgrimage  to  the  true 
Sri  Pada  climb  up  here,  to  make  their  simple  offerings, 
while  looking  towards  Adam's  Peak,  which  rises  sharp  and 
clear  on  the  horizon. 

At  that  high  level  even  unsettled  weather  was  a  positive 
gain,  for  the  radiant  sunshine  alternating  with  down-pours 
of  rain  produced  endlessly  varied  cloud  and  storm  effects, 
and  certain  sunsets  remain  stamped   on  my  memory,  when 


2/8  IN    THE    PLANTING    DISTRICTS. 

the  uplifting  of  heavy  curtains  of  purple  cloud  revealed 
dreamy  glimpses  of  blue-green  sky,  and  then  gleams  of 
fiery  gold  and  lurid  red  shed  an  unearthly  light  on  clouds 
and  mountains. 

Before  each  rain-storm  there  was  a  strange  oppressive 
stillness,  followed  by  an  awakening  breeze,  with  stormy 
gusts  sweeping  up  chilling  mists,  which  preceded  the  heavy 
rain.  A  few  moments  later  and  down  it  poured  in  sheets, 
transforming  dry  paths  into  beds  of  rushing  torrents,  and 
swelling  tiny  rivulets  to  impassable  floods. 

One  day  I  was  sitting  alone  under  the  shelter  of  some 
great  masses  of  rock  fallen  from  the  crag  overhead,  and 
being  absorbed  in  my  sketching,  took  no  heed  of  a  terrific 
thunderstorm  which  broke  right  overhead,  followed  by  pitiless 
rain.  The  friendly  rocks  sheltered  me  so  effectually,  that  I 
purposed  remaining  in  sanctuary  till  the  storm  was  over, 
when  suddenly  down  came  a  torrent  from  the  hill  above, 
pouring  right  through  my  nest. 

In  the  sudden  scramble  to  save  my  various  possessions, 
I  laid  my  paint-bos  on  a  high  ledge  and  clambered  back  to 
rescue  my  picture  and  its  waterproof  cover.  By  the  time 
I  got  out  of  this  trap,  the  water  was  up  to  my  knees,  and 
all  the  way  back  the  path  was  crossed  by  countless  extempore 
streams,  all  above  my  ankles.  It  was  a  tiring  walk,  and  I 
was  glad  to  reach  the  friendly  bungalow  once  more. 

But  imagine  my  dismay  on  finding  that,  in  the  hurry  of 
flight,  I  had  left  the  precious  paint-box  on  the  rocky  ledge, 
whence  in  all  probability  it  had  been  washed  away  by  the 
flood  !  Such  a  loss  would  have  been  utterly  irreparable  ; 
so  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  divest  myself  of  all 
unnecessary  raiment,  and  retrace  my  steps  as  quickly  as 
possible,  in  the  hope  of  retrieving  this  dear  companion  of 


PLEASANT    HOMES.  279 

my  wanderings.  To  my  inexpressible  delight  I  found  it 
high  and  dry,  the  spate  having  passed  just  below  it,  so  I 
returned  in  triumph. 

By  the  time  these  mountain  torrents  have  reached  the 
railway  level  far  below,  they  have  gathered  such  volume 
and  such  impetus,  that  a  sudden  thunderstorm  sometimes 
renders  the  line  impassable,  owing  to  the  rush  of  waters 
across  it,  or  falling  in  muddy  cascades  right  on  to  it. 
Trains  occasionally  receive  shower-baths  by  no  means  in 
the  programme,  and  the  rice-fields  in  the  valley  are  all 
suddenly  transformed  to  lakes. 

This  was  my  first  experience  of  a  planter's  home,  one  of 
many  in  all  parts  of  the  Isle,  differing  in  many  respects, 
according  to  situation,  and  consequent  cultivation,  but  all 
alike  in  the  warm-hearted  cordial  hospitality  which  made 
each  successive  visit  so  pleasant. 

Another  delightful  home  in  which  I  found  repeated  wel- 
come was  Gangarowa,  a  most  lovely  estate  on  the  banks  of 
the  beautiful  Mahavelli  River,  opposite  the  Peradenya  Bota- 
nical Gardens. 

This  was  the  first  plantation  started  by  Sir  Edward 
Barnes  in  1825,  when  he  had  opened  up  the  country  by 
making  the  road  to  Kandy.  All  planting  being  then 
experimental,  a  little  of  everything  was  tried,  so  that 
instead  of  the  monotony  of  a  large  estate  all  devoted  to 
one  product,  Gangarowa  had  the  charm  of  infinite  variety. 
Sad  experience  has  now  taught  most  planters  the  wisdom 
of  not  carrying  all  their  eggs  in  one  basket ;  but  when  I 
was  in  Ceylon,  King  Coffee  reigned  supreme,  and  in  many 
districts  literally  nothing  else  was  cultivated  over  an  area 
of  many  miles.  In  every  direction,  as  fiir  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  up  hill  and  down  dale,  it  was  all  coffee,  coffee,  coffee. 


280  IN    THE    PLANTING    DISTRICTS. 

Of  course,  such  uniformity  was  singularly  unattractive, 
and  as  I  passed  from  one  great  coffee  district  to  another 
in  various  parts  of  Dimbula,  Dickoya,  Maskeliya,  Kalibooka, 
The  Knuckles,  Deltotte,  &c.,  I  confess  to  having  often 
longed  for  some  of  the  vanished  glories  of  the  forests  of 
which  I  had  heard  so  much  from  earlier  settlers  on  the  Isle, 
who  had  told  me  how  between  the  clearings  there  remained 
hundreds  of  exquisite  little  nooks  with  streams  trickling 
under  tree-ferns,  green  dragonflies  skimming  over  quiet 
pools  and  glorious  forest-trees  overhead  ;  instead  of  which 
I  found  every  ravine  denuded,  and  the  totally  unshaded 
streams  avenging  themselves  by  washing  as  much  soil  as 
possible  from  the  roots  of  the  nearest  coffee-trees. 

But  if  those  earlier  settlers  saw  Ceylon  in  greater  beauty 
than  do  those  of  the  present  generation,  they  also  had  to 
face  very  much  harder  conditions  of  life,  living  perhaps  six- 
teen miles  or  more  from  even  a  cart-road,  and  feeding  on 
salt  beef  and  biscuit — never  by  any  chance  tasting  milk, 
bread,  or  potatoes. 

Now  few  need  have  such  rough  fare,  and  many  of  the 
married  men  have  the  cosiest  of  houses,  enlivened  by  music 
and  singing,  new  books  and  magazines,  happy  healthy  chil- 
dren, excellent  food,  pleasant  intercourse  with  neighbours — 
in  short,  all  that  can  tend  to  make  the  wheels  of  life  glide 
smoothly. 

In  truth,  it  is  difficult  to  realise  that  it  is  less  than  half 
a  century  since  the  whole  Central  Province,  right  up  to  the 
very  summit  of  the  highest  mountains,  was  clothed  with 
dense  impenetrable  forests,  so  rapidly  have  they  disappeared 
before  the  diligent  and  ruthless  hands  of  indefatigable 
planters.  Indeed,  so  precious  has  every  acre  become,  that 
comparatively    few    men    even    allow    themselves    a   garden 


HIDEOUS    WHOLESALE    CLEARING.  281 

round  their  own  bungalows,  though  with  the  smallest  care 
such  a  garden  becomes  a  tiny  paradise,  where  orange,  lime, 
and  other  fruit-bearing  trees,  gardenias  and  scarlet  lilies, 
and  all  manner  of  fragrant  and  gorgeous  blossoms  grow  in 
endless  profusion. 

A  few  such  gardens  we  did  see,  and  therein  lingered 
with  delight  beneath  the  cool  shadow  of  large  orange-trees, 
laden  with  blossom  and  ripe  fruit,  on  which  we  feasted 
with  all  the  more  enjoyment  after  toiling  for  hours  through 
dreary  clearings.  Asa  rule,  however,  such  an  oasis  is  rarely 
to  be  met  with ;  and  I  grieve  to  say  that  even  where  some 
tasteful  planters  of  the  last  generation  had  bordered  their 
roads  with  hedges  of  delicious  roses,  a  joy  to  all  passers-by, 
new  owners,  in  their  thirst  for  gold,  uprooted  the  blessed 
flowers  in  order  to  gain  room  for  one  more  row  of  nasty 
little  bushes  (as  I  delighted  in  calling  the  young  cofifee-trees, 
to  aggravate  my  friends  of  the  planting  community). 

Of  course,  in  a  wholesale  clearing,  no  precious  morsel 
of  forest  could  be  reserved ;  so  the  man  who  craved  for  one 
shady  tree  to  overshadow  his  house  must  plant  it  himself 
and  wait  till  it  grew,  otherwise  he  could  hope  for  nothing 
more  imposing  than  his  own  coffee  shrubs,  whose  allotted 
height  is  3  feet  or  3  feet  6  inches,  according  to  their 
position ;  beyond  this,  the  British  planter  does  not  suffer 
his  bushes  to  grow,  though  round  the  native  houses  they 
attain  to  the  size  of  Portugal  laurels  in  this  country,  and 
notwithstanding  this  liberty  bear  a  luxuriant  crop  of  scarlet 
berries. 

So  the  general  effect  of  a  district  which  has  recently 
been  taken  into  cultivation  is  singularly  hideous.  Kar 
as  the  eye  can  reach,  range  beyond  range  of  hills  all  show 
the  same  desolate  expanse  of  blackened  tree-trunks,  for  the 


282  IN   THE    PLANTING    DISTEICTS. 

most  part  felled,  but  a  certain  number  still  upright ;  a 
weird  and  dreary  scene,  as  you  would  think  had  you  to 
toil  up  and  down  these  steep  hills  in  the  burning  sun, 
tliinking,  oh  !  how  regretfully,  of  the  cool  green  forest  shade 
which  has  been  so  ruthlessly  destroyed. 

Sometimes  this  contrast  was  brought  very  vividly  before 
us  when  the  path  along  which  we  were  to  travel  formed 
a  boundary-line  between  the  reclaimed  and  unreclaimed 
land — the  one  so  dismal,  with  scorching  sun  beating  in 
all  its  fierceness  on  the  black  prostrate  trunks,  tossed  in 
wild  confusion  among  the  rocks,  the  other  fresh  and  plea- 
sant to  the  eye,  with  an  undergrowth  of  exquisite  tree- 
ferns  and  a  thousand  other  forms  of  beauty  growing  in 
rank  luxuriance,  and  telling  of  cool  hidden  streamlets  that 
trickle  beneath  the  shade  of  great  trees,  many  of  them 
matted  with  brilliant  flowering  creepers,  or  studded  with 
tufts  of  orchids — flowers  of  the  mist. 

Very  soon  the  glory  of  the  primeval  forests  will  be 
altogether  a  tale  of  the  past  so  far  as  the  hill  districts 
are  concerned,  for  a  few  years  hence,  the  tree-ferns  and 
scarlet  rhododendrons,  and  all  such  useless  jungle  loveliness, 
will  have  utterly  vanished.  Nature  is  very  forgiving,  how- 
ever ;  for  wherever  a  planter  is  found  so  careless  as  to  suffer 
an  encroaching  weed  (and  I  am  bound  to  confess  such  grace- 
ful slovenliness  is  rare),  she  clothes  the  steep  banks  and  cut- 
tings along  the  road  with  a  wilderness  of  dainty  ferns  of 
every  sort,  and  the  richest  tangle  of  a  magnified  edition  of 
our  stag's-horn  moss,  which  grows  in  wildest  luxuriance. 

After  all,  even  while  bewailing  the  destruction  of  beautiful 
forests,  we  were  driven  to  confess  that  but  for  the  labours 
of  the  planters  the  glories  of  the  interior  must  have  re- 
mained to  us  sealed  books.     As  it  was,  we  travelled  hither 


skinner's  prophecy.  283 

and  thither,  and  explored  scenes  which  but  a  few  years  ago 
would  have  been  to  us  simply  unattainuljle. 

When  in  1840  Lieutenant  Skinner  ascended  Adam's  Peak, 
and  looking  down  from  that  high  summit  on  range  beyond 
range  all  densely  clothed  with  pathless  forest,  totally  im- 
penetrable save  where  elephants  had  cleared  roads  for  them- 
selves, he  foretold  that  this  region  was  destined  ere  long 
to  become  the  garden  of  Ceylon — a  garden  of  European  as 
well  as  tropical  productions,  peopled  with  European  as  well 
as  Asiatic  faces — he  was  jeered  at  for  his  prediction. 

Yet  he  maintained  his  conviction  ;  for  "  who,"  he  said, 
"  can  enjoy  this  perfect  climate — thermometer  at  G8' — 
without  feeling  that  it  would  be  conferring  a  blessing  on 
humanity,  by  clearing  this  trackless  wilderness  of  from 
200,000  to  300,000  acres  of  forest,  to  be  the  means  of  re- 
moving some  20,000  of  the  panting,  half-famished  creatures 
from  the  burning  sandy  plains  of  Southern  India  to  such 
comparative  paradise,  and  also  benefiting  our  own  Singhalese 
people  inhabiting  the  margin  of  this  wilderness,  now  com- 
pelled to  hide  in  places  scarcely  accessible  to  man,  in  order 
to  render  their  dwellings  inaccessible  to  elephants,  and  many 
of  them  unable  to  cultivate  a  grain  of  paddy  or  to  procure 
a  morsel  of  salt  ?  " 

Major  Skinner  lived  long  enough  to  see  the  ancient  in- 
habitants of  the  Isle,  the  immigrant  labourers  from  the 
coast  of  Coromandel,  and  European  planters  all  working 
peacefully  side  by  side  on  reclaimed  lands.  But  sad  to 
say,  the  opening  up  of  the  country  and  the  influx  of  foreign 
gold  did  not  prove  unmixed  advantages.  In  1819  Major 
Skinner  had  to  report  that  "  the  most  profligate  of  the  low- 
country  Singhalese  had  flocked  from  the  maritime  provinces 
into  the  interior,  and  spread  their  contaminating  influences 


284  m    THE    PLANTING    DISTRICTS. 

far  and  wide  over  a  previously  sober,  orderly,  honest  race. 
Robberies  and  bloodshed  had  become  familiar  to  the  Kan- 
dyan  in  districts  where  a  few  years  before  any  amount  of 
property  would  have  been  perfectly  safe  in  the  open  air." 

Moreover,  he  had  to  report  that  the  vice  of  intemperance 
had  become  an  enormous  evil,  and  one  which  was  rapidly 
gaining  ground.  The  system  of  the  Government  sale  of 
arrack-farms  was  already  in  full  force,  and  yielding  a  revenue 
of  about  £60,000  a  year. 

"  It  is,  of  course,"  he  says,  "  the  object  of  the  renter  to 
sublet  as  many  of  these  taverns  as  possible ;  they  are  estab- 
lished in  almost  every  village  of  any  size  throughout  the 
interior,  often  to  the  great  annoyance  of  the  inhabitants, 
and  in  opposition  to  the  headmen.  To  give  the  people  a 
taste  for  the  use  of  spirits,  it  is  often,  at  first,  necessary  to 
distribute  it  gratuitously,  the  tavern-keepers  well  knowing 
that,  with  the  use,  the  abuse  follows  as  a  certainty.  I  have 
known  districts  in  which,  some  years  ago,  not  one  in  a 
hundred  could  be  induced  to  taste  spirits,  where  drunken- 
ness now  prevails  to  such  an  extent  that  villagers  have  been 
known  to  pawn  their  crops  upon  the  ground  to  tavern- 
keepers  for  arrack." 

Forty  years  have  elapsed  since  those  lines  were  penned, 
and  of  those  great  forests,  then  known  as  "  The  Wilderness 
of  the  Peak,"  scarcely  a  vestige  remains,  fully  300,000  acres 
being  now  under  cultivation,  traversed  by  carriage-roads, 
and  dotted  over  with  European  homes  and  such  important 
villages  as  Maskeliya,  Dickoya,  St.  Clair,  Craigie-Lea,  &c. 

So  fully  has  the  prediction  been  carried  out,  that 
Nanuoya,  the  present  railway  terminus,  which  twenty  years 
ago  lay  in  the  heart  of  untouched  jungle,  is  now  a  centre 
of  such  busy  life  that  last  year  it  received  and  despatched 


PLANTING    AUSTRALIAN    TKEES.  235 

no  less  than  21,090  telegrams  on  railway  business,  without 
counting  private  messages  ;  ^  while  a  daily  average  of  seventy 
goods  waggons,  laden  with  very  varied  products,  were  de- 
spatched thence,  and  as  many  more  daily  arrived  from  the 
low  country. 

Now  that  the  steed  has  been  stolen,  and  vast  tracts 
totally  denuded  of  forest,  Government  has  wisely  interfered 
to  preserve  some  fragments  in  the  remaining  districts,  and 
also  by  reserving  a  narrow  belt  of  timber  on  the  banks  of 
streams  and  around  their  source  ;  also  by  prohibiting  the 
clearing  of  mountain  ridges.  But  so  ruthless  and  utterly 
improvident  has  been  the  wholesale  destruction  of  the 
forests,  that  now,  whatever  timber  is  necessary  for  estate 
purposes,  such  as  building  or  any  form  of  carpentering, 
must  be  purchased,  and  planters  in  many  districts  have  to 
employ  coolies  on  purpose  to  fetch  firewood  from  loug  dis- 
tances. 

Efforts  are  now  being  made  to  correct  past  errors  by  plant- 
ing foreign  trees,  especially  the  quick-growing  Australian 
trees,  which  adapt  themselves  most  readily  to  the  soil. 
Amongst  these  are  the  yarrah,  casuarina,  wattle,  and  other 
acacias.  The  wattle,  howevt-r,  from  the  extraordinary  dis- 
tance to  which  it  spreads  its  roots,  proved  such  an  encroach- 
ing colonist,  that  it  became  necessary  to  eradicate  it  totally. 
But  the  various  Eucalypti,  i.e.,  the  Australian  gums,  have 
proved  true  friends  in  need,  and  develop  in  a  manmr  wortiiy 
of  their  great  Fatherland.  On  some  estates  at  an  eleva- 
tion of  5000  feet,  blue  gums  have  been  found  to  grow  a 
foot  per  month  in  the  rainy  season,  and  about  six  inches 
per    month    for   the    other    half    of    the    year !      So   these 

1  At  Colombo,  in  the  same  year,  the  railway  telegrams  received  and  de- 
spatched numbered  20,955,  and  post-ollice  telegrams  50, -187. 


286  IN   THE   PLANTING    DISTRICTS. 

gigantic  young  Australians  attain  a  height  of  upwards  of 
sixty  feet  within  five  years  ! 

As  I  have  said,  at  the  time  of  my  visit  to  Ceylon,  King 
Coffee  held  undisputed  sway,  and  his  name  was  on  every  lip. 
Coffee — coffee — coffee — its  rise  and  fall  in  the  market — its 
snowy  blossoms — its  promise  of  crop — the  ravages  of  coffee- 
bug  or  leaf-disease,  these  were  the  topics  on  which  the 
changes  were  rung  morning,  noon,  and  night — but  especi- 
ally at  night  over  the  pipes,  which  took  (what  seemed  to  us, 
vainly  courting  sleep)  such  an  interminable  time  to  smoke. 
For  this  is  one  disadvantage  in  the  construction  of  all  Eastern 
houses  that  I  have  ever  seen.  They  are  so  built  that  every 
room  has  the  benefit  of  all  its  neighbour's  conversation,  to 
say  nothing  of  that  which  goes  on  in  the  verandah  outside 
the  windows.  Moreover,  to  secure  ventilation,  the  interior 
of  most  bungalows  is  merely  divided  by  partitions  reaching 
to  a  certain  height,  and  above  that  is  the  tightly-stretched 
white  canvas  which  checks  the  fallinof  of  frao^ments  from  the 
high-peaked  roof. 

In  the  mountain  districts  the  houses  are  of  a  somewhat 
British  type,  having  boarded  floors,  well  raised  above  the 
ground  as  a  precaution  against  damp,  and  fireplaces  in 
most  rooms.  Where  the  carriage  of  brick  from  the  low 
country,  or  even  stone  from  the  mountain  quarry,  would  be 
too  costly,  these  houses  are  chiefly  built  of  wood  trellised  with 
bamboo,  and  the  interstices  filled  with  clay  and  plastered 
over. 

Alas !  very  soon  after  the  days  of  which  I  speak,  King 
Coffee  fell  from  his  throne  ;  the  gi'ievous  leaf-disease  appeared 
in  all  its  virulence,  and  tens  of  thousands  of  acres  on  the 
most  flourishing  estates  were  left  desolate,  clothed  with 
withered  diseased  shrubs  scarcelv  fit  for  firewood. 


FIRST   APPEARANCE    OF    THE    FATAL    FUXflUS.         287 

This  cruel  disease  {Hemileia  Vcstatrb:)  is  a  fungus  wliicli 
appears  in  the  form  of  orange-coloured  spots  on  the  leaf, 
which  presently  drops  off,  and  the  shrub  is  sometimes  left 
leafless  and  apparently  dead.  Perhaps  soon  afterwards  it 
is  again  covered  with  leaves,  but  again  the  deadly  fungus 
reappears.  It  was  first  observed  in  Ceylon  in  May  1869 
on  a  few  plants  in  one  of  the  eastern  districts,  whence  it 
attacked  a  few  acres,  then  spread  like  wildfire  over  the  whole 
coffee  region.  It  appeared  simultaneously  in  other  Eastern 
countries — came  and  conquered — while  grubs  attacked  the 
roots  and  brown  bugs  sapped  the  life-blood  of  the  once 
flourishing  shrubs. 

Everj^hing  that  ingenuity  and  despair  could  suggest  was 
tried  in  vain — collecting  and  burning  the  diseased  leaves, 
high  manuring,  wholesale  pruning.  The  destructive  fungus 
held  its  ground,  and  the  sorely-tried  planters  in  too  many 
cases  were  literally  driven  to  abandon  the  lands  which  they 
could  not  afford  to  work,  and  to  seek  employment  under 
newcomers,  who,  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  sad  years,  brought 
fresh  supplies  of  gold  wherewith  to  test  new  products.  Tea, 
cinchona,  cacao,  and  various  other  crops  were  planted  experi- 
mentally, with  the  result  that  Ceylon  is  now  more  flourishing 
than  ever,  with  splendidly  varied  products,  including  coffee, 
which  in  some  districts  is  now  as  fine  and  as  healthy  as 
ever,  but  the  reigning  monarch  now  is  Tfa,  whose  supre- 
macy is  scarcely  likely  ever  to  be  disputed. 

But  before  speaking  of  this  new  king.  T  will  brielly  glance 
at  the  history  of  coffee  in  Ceylon.  To  begin  with,  it  is  a 
singular  fact  that  not  only  a  very  large  proportion  of  all 
the  coffee  that  once  clothed  these  thousand  hills  in  Ceylon, 
but  also  the  coffee  plantations  of  many  other  lands  are  all 
lineally  descended  from  one  plant,  which,  about  A.D.  1090, 


288  IN   THE   PLANTING   DISTRICTS. 

was  raised  in  a  garden  at  Batavia  by  the  Dutch  governor, 
General  Van  Hoorne,  to  whom  a  few  seeds  had  been  pre- 
sented by  a  trader  from  the  Arabian  Gulf. 

These  took  so  kindly  to  the  soil  of  Java,  that  coffee 
plantations  were  established,  and  a  plant  was  sent  to  the 
Botanic  Gardens  at  Amsterdam.  Thence  young  plants, 
reared  from  its  seeds,  were  forwarded  to  Surinam,  which  in 
its  turn  sent  a  supply  to  various  of  the  West  Indian  Isles. 
Wherever  the  young  plants  arrived,  plantations  were  started, 
and  meanwhile  Java  had  sent  supplies  to  Sumatra,  Celebes, 
Bali,  the  Philippines,  and  Ceylon. 

To  the  latter,  however,  the  plant  had  already  been  brought, 
pi'obably  by  Arab  traders,  but  the  secret  of  its  fragrant 
berries  had  remained  undiscovered.  It  was  planted  as  an 
ornamental  shrub  about  the  king's  palace  and  near  the 
temples  of  Buddha,  on  whose  altars  its  delicate  starry  blossoms 
were  laid  as  offerings.  A  beverage  was  prepared  from  its 
leaves,  which  also  found  favour  in  making  curry,  but  it  was 
not  till  the  Dutch  revealed  the  hidden  mystery  that  the  art 
of  roasting  coffee-beans  dawned  upon  them. 

The  Dutch,  however,  committed  the  blunder  of  making 
their  plantations  in  the  low-lying,  thoroughly  tropical  dis- 
tricts of  Galle  and  Negombo,  both  on  the  sea-coast.  The 
result  was  highly  unfavourable,  and  in  1739  the  attempt  to 
cultivate  coffee  was  abandoned  by  the  foreigners,  but  carried 
on  by  the  Singhalese,  who  continued  growing  it  on  a  small 
scale. 

This  continued  till  about  the  year  1825,  when  the 
English  governor.  Sir  Edward  Barnes,  having  opened  up 
the  hill-country  by  making  a  road  to  Kandy,  bethought 
him  of  making  an  experimental  plantation  at  this  height. 
He  obtained  splendid  crops  from  the  virgin  soil  of  those 


STRANGE    VICISSITUDES.  289 

rich  forest  lands,  and  so  successful  an  example  was  quickly- 
followed.  Free  grants  of  Crown-land  were  so  eagerly  taken 
up,  that  5s.  per  acre  was  charged,  at  which  price  some  men 
abstained  from  buying. 

Forty  years  later,  choice  land  in  full  cultivation  was  sold 
at  prices  ranging  from  £100  to  £130  per  acre. 

But  ere  then,  the  fortunes  of  coffee-planters  were  subject 
to  strange  vicissitudes.  The  golden  harvest  reaped  by 
those  first  in  the  field  attracted  an  eager  throng  of  specu- 
lators of  every  rank,  all  hasting  to  secure  Ceylon  estates, 
and  it  has  been  stated  that  something  like  £5,000,000 
was  thus  invested,  when  suddenly,  in  1845,  there  came  a 
terrible  financial  crisis  in  Europe,  the  effects  of  which  on 
prices  and  credit  shook  the  new  industry  of  Ceylon  to  its 
very  foundations. 

Then,  as  a  climax  of  evil,  came  the  declaration  of  Free 
Trade,  admitting  the  coffee  of  Java  and  Brazil  to  British 
markets  on  equal  terms  with  that  of  Ceylon.  These  tidings 
of  woe  produced  a  panic  which  resulted  in  wide-spread 
ruin.  In  the  consternation  of  the  moment,  estates  were 
forced  into  the  market  and  sold  for  a  tithe  or  a  twentieth 
of  the  money  that  had  been  expended  on  them.  One 
estate,  which  three  years  previously  had  been  purchased  for 
£15,000,  was  sold  for  £440;  two  purchased  for  £10,000 
apiece  respectively  realised  £500  and  £350 ;  while  for 
others  no  offer  could  be  obtained,  so  they  were  abandoued 
and  allowed  to  relapse  to  jungle.  It  has  been  estimated 
that  probably  one-tenth  of  the  estates  originally  opened 
were  thus  abandoned. 

Yet  so  quickly  does  time  bring  its  revenges,  that  twenty 
years  later  the  scale  was  reversed,  and  estates  bought  lor  a 
few  hundreds  were  sold  for  many  thousands  sterling.      In 

VOL.  II.  T 


290  IN    THE    PLANTING   DISTEICTS. 

the  midst  of  Ihis  lamentable  crisis,  the  Bank  of  Ceylon 
stopped  payment,  losing  heavily  on  large  loans  advanced 
to  planters.  Its  business  was,  however,  taken  np  by  the 
"Western  Bank  of  India,  which  thereupon  assumed  the  name 
of  the  Oriental  Bank  Corporation.  It  must  be  noted  as  a 
singular  coincidence,  that  the  career  commenced  under 
such  adverse  influences  should  have  ended  during  the  late 
almost  equally  calamitous  time  of  commercial  depression,  in 
like  manner  rising  Phoenix-like  from  its  own  ashes  in  the 
form  of  the  new  Oriental  Bank  Corporation. 

By  1870  about  150,000  acres  of  mountain  forest  had  been 
cleared  and  replaced  by  coffee,  of  which  the  annual  export 
rose  to  974,333  cwts.,  representing  a  value  not  far  short 
of  £5,000,000.  That  proved  to  be  the  highest  point  ever 
attained  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  coffee-planter's  dream 
— a  vision  golden  indeed,  but,  like  the  splendour  of  a 
gorgeous  sunset,  it  heralded  the  stormy  change  which  too 
quickly  followed.  A  little  cloud  had  been  rising,  at  first 
scarcely  deemed  worthy  of  notice,  yet  all  too  quickly  it 
had  overshadowed  the  whole  land,  and  the  fair  crops  were 
all  stricken  by  cruel  blight.  It  was  the  old  story  of  the 
seven  lean  kine  which  devoured  the  fat  fair  kine  of  pre- 
vious years,  for  the  years  that  followed  were  truly  years 
of  famine. 

The  destroying  angel  in  the  present  instance  came  in  the 
form  of  the  humble  fungus,  of  which  I  have  already  spoken 
— the  orange-coloured  spots  on  the  leaves.  At  first  it  was 
hoped  that  it  might  prove  merely  local  and  be  stamped  out. 
That  hope,  however,  proved  delusive,  for  in  an  incredibly 
short  period  it  overspread  the  whole  land,  and  was  un- 
happily exported  even  to  the  young  colony  of  Fiji,  where 
coffee,  introduced  with  much  care  bv  Government,  had  nre- 


DEEPENING    DEPRESSION.  291 

viously  been  flourishing.  To  make  matters  worse,  a  green 
bug,  as  thirsty  as  the  brown  bug  of  past  years,  came  to  feast 
on  the  life-juices  of  the  poor  sick  shrubs. 

For  some  years  the  story  of  Ceylon  was  one  cry  of 
lamentation  and  mourning  and  woe.  The  fair  Isle  seemed 
sick  unto  death,  and  many  gave  up  all  hope  of  her  recovery. 
Night  seemed  settling  down  to  ever-deepening  darkness, 
a  night  of  chill  mists,  in  which  "  poortith  cauld  "  entered 
imbidden — the  first  guest  that  ever  failed  of  a  welcome  to 
the  ever-hospitable  homes  of  the  Ceylon  planters.  Then 
many  a  brave  hard-working  man,  who  had  invested  his 
whole  capita],  and  probably  borrowed  money  besides  on  the 
estate  that  seemed  so  secure,  found  it  totally  impossible  to 
tide  over  the  evil  hour. 

Where  the  calamity  was  so  wide-spread  as  to  cripple 
some  of  the  great  mercantile  firms  and  involve  all  in  seri- 
ous anxiety,  it  became  a  hopeless  matter  for  individuals 
to  obtain  credit,  and  when  no  monev  was  forthcomin«r  even 
to  pay  coolies'  wages,  there  was  in  many  cases  no  alternative 
but  simply  to  abandon  the  land,  and  thousands  of  acres  were 
thus  left  to  relapse  into  jungle,  and  the  estate  buildings 
were  left  to  go  to  ruin. 

True  to  the  axiom  that  misfortunes  never  come  sinjjlv, 
the  Oriental  Bank,  which  in  the  terrible  crisis  of  1845 
had  so  gallantly  come  to  the  rescue,  now  (partly  owing  to 
heavy  insular  losses)  found  itself  compelled  to  stop  payment, 
thereby  adding  so  seriously  to  the  general  commercial  com- 
plication as  to  threaten  general  bankruptcy.  In  this  very 
grave  complication,  the  Governor,  the  Hon.  Sir  Arthur 
Hamilton  Gordon,  took  upon  himself  the  responsibility  of 
giving  Government  security  for  all  tlie  Bank's  notes  circu- 
lating in  the  island,  to  the  value  of  3,000,000  rupees — a 


202  IN    THE    I'LANTIxNG    DISTRICTS. 

prompt  and  energetic  measure,  which  restored  public  con- 
iidcnce  and  averted  untold  mischief. 

Never  was  there  a  more  splendid  instance  of  the  advan- 
tage of  acting  for  the  best  and  asking  leave  afterwards. 
It  was  a  tremendous  responsibility  for  a  Colonial  Governor 
to  undertake,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  had 
the  question  been  referred  first  to  the  Home  Government  it 
would  have  been  vetoed.  As  it  was,  it  proved  a  splendid  suc- 
cess, and  saved  many  a  house  from  ruin.  Equally  success- 
ful w^as  the  establishment  of  Government  currency  notes, 
which  not  only  relieved  the  island  from  temporary  diffi- 
culty, but  already  yield  the  colonial  exchequer  an  annual 
profit  approaching  200,000  rupees. 

The  darkest  hour  is  ever  next  the  dawning,  and  shortly 
before  the  coffee  crisis  had  become  serious,  experimental 
tea  plantations  had  been  started  at  various  altitudes,  and 
all  with  complete  success,  the  snowy  blossoms  of  the  tea 
shrubs — Camellia  thcifcra — forming  a  pleasing  variety  on 
the  monotony  of  the  ever-present  coffee,  beautiful  as  it  was, 
with  its  sheets  of  fragrant  blossoms  or  its  clusters  of  green, 
yellow,  scarlet,  and  crimson  cherries.  Here  then  was  a 
rainbow  of  promise  for  the  future,  and  such  planters  as 
were  still  able  to  raise  sufficient  capital  for  another  venture 
grasped  the  situation,  and  grappled  with  the  new  industry 
with  the  semi-despaii'ing  energy  of  men  who  knew  it  to  be 
their  last  resource. 

Happily  on  many  estates  it  was  decided  not  at  once  to 
uproot  diseased  coffee,  but  give  it  a  chance  of  recovery,  while 
tea  shrubs  were  planted  all  over  the  ground ;  and  well  it  is 
that  this  was  done,  as  in  many  cases  on  estates  which  had 
been  abandoned  as  past  hope,  the  leafless  bushes,  which 
were  apparently  dead,  recovered  as  if  from  a  trance,   and 


nature's  law  of  infinite  variety.         293 

putting  forth  fresh  leaves,  yielded  fair  crops  of  berries,  albeit 
strucrg^lincr  for  existence  with  the  too  luxuriant  weeds  and 
scrub,  which  had  been  allowed  to  grow  unheeded.  On 
estates  where  it  has  been  again  taken  into  cultivation, 
excellent  returns  have  been  obtained,  notably  in  Uva,  where 
on  a  single  branch,  which  in  September  1890  was  cut  as 
"  a  specimen  "  of  the  crop  on  the  Albion  estate,  no  less  than 
954  berries  were  counted. 

So  there  is  now  once  more  good  hope  for  the  future  of 
coffee,  and  its  advocates  point  out  how  scourges  well-nigh 
as  grievous  as  leaf-disease  have  ravaged  certain  crops  in 
divers  lands,  yet  have  eventually  Avorn  themselves  out. 
Thus  in  Ceylon  about  the  year  18G6  coffee  was  grievously 
aSlicted  by  a  black  bug,  which  was  first  observed  in  181'j 
on  a  few  bushes  in  the  district  of  Madulsima,  but  thence 
spread  and  multiplied  till  it  had  attacked  every  estate,  and 
was  officially  recognised  as  a  permanent  pest ;  yet  so  com- 
pletely has  it  passed  away,  that  it  now  ranks  as  a  compara- 
tively rare  visitor. 

While  searching  for  any  natural  cause  which  might 
account  for  the  origin  of  a  plague  so  virulent  aud  wide- 
spread as  the  leaf-disease,  it  has  been  suggested  that  some 
such  result  very  frequently  follows  the  disturbance  of  Nature's 
system  of  blending  innumerable  varieties  of  vegetation. 

Man  clears  great  tracts  of  forest  or  plain,  and  plants 
the  whole  with  one  product,  and  ere  long  his  vines  develop 
phylloxera,  his  potatoes  are  attacked  by  blight  or  Colorado 
beetle,  his  great  wheat  plains  are  spoiled  by  rust.  In 
Mysore  a  slimy  leaf-disease  attacks  his  coflee  ;  in  Brazil,  and 
likewise  in  Dominica,  great  tracts  of  the  same  are  destroyed 
by  a  burrowing  grub ;  and  so  here  in  like  manner  vast 
districts  hitherto  clothed  with  all  manner  of  trees,  shrubs, 


294  IN    THE    PLANTING    DISTRICTS. 

ferns,  and  grasses,  are  suddenly  stripped,  to  be  henceforth 
devoted  to  the  growth  of  one  shrub,  and  that  a  shrub 
which  requires  tlie  aid  of  divers  manures  to  stimulate  its 
growth. 

It  is  self-evident  that  when  once  the  special  foe  of  such 
a  product  has  discovered  such  unlimited  feeding-ground,  it 
is  not  likely  to  abandon  the  country  very  quickly.  Never- 
theless, as  I  have  shown,  such  scourges  do  wear  themselves 
out  in  time,  and  though  coffee  can  never  regain  its  former 
undisputed  dominion  in  Ceylon,  its  cultivation  is  now  once 
more  taking  a  fair  place  among  profitable  industries. 

A  very  remarkable  feature  in  the  successive  cultivation 
of  coffee  and  tea  has  been  the  discovery  that  these  two 
plants  derive  their  sustenance  from  totally  different  elements 
in  the  soil,  so  that  an  abandoned  coffee-field  is  practically 
virgin  soil  as  regards  tea.  The  latter  seems  warranted  to 
flourish  in  all  soils  and  at  all  altitudes,  plantations  within 
half-a-dozen  miles  of  the  sea,  and  not  150  feet  above  sea- 
level,  yielding  as  excellent  returns  as  those  at  an  altitude 
of  6000  feet.  So  extraordinary  is  the  talent  of  this  hardy 
shrub  for  adapting  itself  to  circumstances,  that  although  its 
habit  is  to  send  out  lateral  roots,  which  in  some  cases  are 
as  thick  as  a  man's  thumb,  and  extend  ten  or  twelve  feet 
from  the  stem,  yet  if  it  fails  thereby  to  secure  sufficient 
nourishment,  it  strikes  a  strong  tap-root  six  or  eight  feet 
down  to  the  lower  soil,  even  penetrating  cabook,  and  secur- 
ing itself  to  the  fissure  of  some  subterranean  rock,  and 
drawing  nourishment  from  land  never  reached  by  the  coffee, 
which  is  a  surface-feeder. 

I  have  already  referred  ^  to  the  amazingly  rapid  extension 
of  the  tea  industry  in  Ceylon,  so  need  not  now  recur  to  that 
'  See  vol.  i.  p.  6. 


ENEMIES    OF   TEA.  205 

subject.  Of  course  tea  may  develop  a  special  disease,  but 
as  yet  there  has  been  no  symptom  of  such  a  thing. 
Wherever  it  has  been  grown  in  other  countries,  it  has 
proved  remarkably  hardy  and  free  from  disease.  Certainly 
blights  of  green-fly  and  red-spiders  have  given  some  trouble 
on  Indian  estates,  but  so  they  do  in  English  rose-gardens. 
A  note  of  warning  was  sounded  in  18Si  when  an  insect 
named  Hdopeltis  Antonii,  which  has  proved  a  grave  foe 
to  tea  in  India  and  Java,  and  is  the  worst  enemy  of  the 
chocolate-tree,  appeared  in  Ceylon.  Happily,  however,  it 
does  not  seem  to  have  gained  a  footing  in  the  Isle. 

A  more  dangerous  enemy  is  the  ever-present,  ever-active 
white  ant,  which  was  never  known  to  attack  living  coffee 
bushes,  but  shows  a  great  liking  for  flourishing  young  tea- 
trees,  and  has  done  grave  damage  in  the  Ratnapura  district, 
and  in  some  other  places  even  2500  feet  above  the  sea-level. 

In  Southern  India  its  chief  foe  is  the  porcupine,  which 
has  at  least  the  merit  of  size  (better  than  battling  with 
myriads  of  scarcely  visible  foes).  It  goes  about  the  tea- 
fields  at  night,  cutting  right  through  the  roots,  and  grubbing 
up  the  bushes  apparently  out  of  sheer  venom,  as  it  does  not 
seem  to  eat  even  the  roots.  But  its  love  of  potatoes  gives 
the  Neilgherry  planter  a  chance  ;  he  prepares  little  enclosed 
patches  of  potatoes  guarded  with  spring-guns,  and  thus 
disposes  of  a  good  many  of  these  troublesome  diggers,  whose 
flesh  is  as  highly  acceptable  to  his  coolies  as  is  that  of 
coffee-rats  fried  in  cocoa-nut  oil  to  the  coolies  of  Ceylon, 
where  swarms  of  the  said  rats  sometimes  attack  a  planta- 
tion and  nibble  off  branches  to  get  at  the  clierries. 

Another  foe  which  they  turn  to  equally  good  account  is 
the  pig-rat  or  bandicoot,  which  grows  to  nearly  two  feet  in 
length.      It  is  a  clean  feeder,  with   flesh  resembling  pork, 


29G  IN   THE   PLANTING    DISTRICTS. 

and  makes  a  much  appreciated  curry.  In  some  districts — 
e.g.,  Ilantane — serious  damage  to  coffee  is  due  to  wild  pigs, 
which  grulj  up  the  bushes,  and  involve  constant  watch- 
ino-.  These  also  are  foes  worth  the  trouble  of  slaying. 
The  merry,  frolicsome  little  grey  squirrel,  with  its  hand- 
some dark  stripes  and  large  bushy  tail,  is  not  often  molested, 
although  rather  a  serious  poacher,  as  he  delights  iri  the 
ripe  red  cherries,  or  rather  in  the  beans  which  he  finds 
within  them. 

Amongst  other  strong  points  in  favour  of  tea  versus  coffee, 
one  is  that  whereas  the  harvesting  of  the  latter  is  entirely 
dependent  on  a  few  days  of  fine  weather  at  certain  seasons, 
that  of  tea  goes  on  more  or  less  all  the  year  round,  the 
warm  steamy  climate  of  Ceylon,  produced  by  floods  of  sun- 
shine alternating  with  heavy  rain,  being  eminently  suited 
for  the  production  of  luxuriant  foliage.  The  tree  is  no 
sooner  stripped  of  its  leaves  than  it  puts  forth  young  shoots 
in  place  of  those  gathered,  which  are  immediately  dried 
artificially  by  processes  so  purely  mechanical,  that  no  hand- 
ling is  allowed  ;  all  is  done  automatically,  thus  securing  the 
most  rigorous  cleanliness — a  very  marked  feature  in  favour 
of  Ceylon  tea  versus  that  of  China. 

An  initial  expense  in  the  change  from  coffee  to  tea 
cultivation  has  been  owing  to  the  fact  that  whereas  coffee 
is  transported  to  Colombo,  there  to  undergo  its  various 
stages  of  preparation  for  the  market,  tea  must  all  be  pre- 
pared on  the  estates,  involving  new  buildings  and  special 
machinerj'.  Moreover,  the  grave  error  of  the  wholesale 
clearing  of  forests  is  thereby  brought  vividly  home  to 
the  planters,  who  are  now  compelled  to  buy  fuel  at  a 
high  cost,  not  only  for  culinary  purposes,  but  for  tea- 
drying. 


THE   FOOD    OF    THE    GODS.  297 

To  supply  this  need,  Eucalypti,  blue  gum,  and  many 
Australian  trees  have,  as  we  have  seen,  been  successfully 
planted  on  hills  and  patenas.  But  though  the  eucalyptus 
rapidly  shoots  up  to  a  very  great  height,  it  has  in  many 
cases  been  killed  by  the  ravages  of  a  minute  insect,  my- 
riads of  which  attack  the  tree  and  bore  right  through  its 
stem. 

Prominent  amongr  the  industries  which  have  onlv  bej^un 
to  develop  since  the  temporary  failure  of  coffee  is  the  cul- 
ture of  the  beautiful  cacao  or  chocolate  tree  (^Thcdbroma 
Cacao,  "  the  food  of  the  gods  "),  which  had  long  been  grown 
in  Ceylon  as  an  ornamental  shrub,  without  a  thought  of  its 
commercial  value.  And  very  ornamental  it  is,  forming  a 
very  much  more  attractive  plantation  than  either  closely- 
pruned  tea  or  coffee  shrubs.  In  four  years  it  grows  to  a 
height  of  about  sixteen  feet,  with  luxuriant  masses  of  large 
handsome  leaves,  casting  a  dark  cool  shade. 

It  bears  small  pink  and  white  blossoms,  which  develop 
into  magnificent  rough  oblong  pods  as  large  as  a  man's 
two  hands.  These  as  they  ripen,  assume  very  varied  and 
rich  colours,  the  Caraccas  cacao-pods  changing  from  green 
to  white  and  golden-yellow  ;  that  imported  from  Trinidad 
becoming  crimson  and  maroon  and  purple.  Wlien  open, 
they  reveal  a  bed  of  sticky  pulp,  much  appreciated  by 
native  children,  wherein  lie  embedded  from  twenty  to  thirty 
of  the  precious  beans  or  "  nibs,"  which  when  roasted  and 
mixed  with  sugar,  vanilla,  and  other  things,  form  the  various 
preparations  in  which  this  "  food  of  the  gods  "  (as  Linna;us 
so  happily  named  it)  is  familiar  to  us. 

To  obtain  these,  however,  the  beans  must  first  travel  to 
Europe,  amateur  efforts  at  producing  home-made  cacao  in 
Ceylonese  homes  having   proved  eminently  unsatisfactory, 


298  IN    TUE    TLANTING    DISTRICTS. 

whereas  tea  prepared  on  the  estates  is  so  perfect,  that  tea- 
drinking  has  been  largely  developed. 

Of  coarse  there  was  much  to  learn  regarding  the  condi- 
tions of  successful  cacao  cultivation — the  exact  amount  of 
shade  required  ^  and  protection  from  wind,  the  necessity  for 
good  soil  and  sutlicicnt  rainfall — all  these  had  to  be  learnt 
by  experience,  and  the  young  industry  received  a  severe 
shock  in  1885  owing  to  the  prolonged  drought,  which 
favoured  the  ravages  of  an  insect  pest,  causing  the  death  of 
many  young  trees  and  inducing  some  planters  to  abandon 
this  culture.  This,  however,  proved  but  a  temporary  check, 
as  Ceylon  cacao  now  commands  a  high  price  in  European 
markets. 

Of  all  the  new  products,  none  gave  such  rapid  and  valuable 
returns  at  the  time  of  the  most  grievous  depression  as  cin- 
chona, the  bark  of  which  yields  the  quinine  so  precious  as  a 
tonic  and  preventive  of  fever,  as  also  in  counteracting  the 
craving  for  opium  and  other  stimulants.  Some  seeds  im- 
ported from  South  America  had  been  sown  in  the  Govern- 
ment garden  at  Hackgalla  in  1861,  and  chemical  analysis 
had  proved  the  island-grown  produce  to  be  of  such  excellent 
quality — fully  equal  to  that  sold  by  English  and  French 
chemists  at  a  guinea  and  thirty  francs  per  ounce — that  its 
cultivation  had  been  encouraged  by  the  offer  of  free  gifts 
of  young  plants  ;  but  so  entirely  were  the  whole  community 
under  the  dominion  of  King  Coffee,  that  even  when  a  planter 
of  an  experimental  turn  of  mind  converted  a  corner  of  his 

^  These  problems  have  to  be  puzzled  out  with  regard  to  each  separate  pro- 
duct. For  instance,  with  regard  to  coffee,  it  is  found  that  on  elevations  of 
from  2000  to  6000  feet  above  the  sea  no  shade  is  required,  as  the  clouds  suflBce. 
But  at  lower  levels  moderate  shade  is  found  advantageous,  especially  if  aflforded 
by  remunerative  trees,  such  as  cacao  shrubs,  which  in  their  turn  can  be  shaded 
by  tall  cocoa-palms. 


CINCHONA    PLANTATIONS.  290 

estate  into  a  cinchona  plantation,  the  next  proprietor  rooted 
it  out,  grudging  every  inch  that  was  not  devoted  to  coffee. 

But  when  that  failed,  men  bethought  them  of  the  hitherto 
neglected  cinchona,  the  value  of  which  in  their  eyes  was 
perhaps  further  enhanced  by  the  fact  that  the  young  plants 
were  no  longer  offered  at  the  Government  nurseries  as  a  free 
gift,  but  at  the  rate  of  five  rupees  per  thousand.  "Within 
six  years  about  four  million  young  plants  were  thus  disposed 
of,  and  plantations  were  formed  throughout  the  hill-country 
on  all  manner  of  soil  and  at  all  possible  altitudes,  both  above 
and  below  the  coffee  zone. 

The  methods  of  cultivation  and  of  obtainincf  the  larj^est 
quantity  of  bark  without  killing  the  poor  trees  in  the  pro- 
cess of  partial  flaying  were  so  very  experimental,  that  in 
some  cases  this  cinchona-planting  proved  a  failure.^  It  is  a 
peculiarly  uncertain  crop  to  raise,  as  there  is  no  security 
that  good  plants  will  grow  from  even  the  best  seed  taken 
from  the  best  plants.  But  the  plantations  on  suitable  soil 
and  judiciously  treated  yielded  very  large  returns,  as  may 
be  inferred  from  the  rapid  development  of  the  export  of 
cinchona  bark,  which  in  1872  amounted  only  to  11,547  lbs., 
but  by  1887  had  reached  well-nigh  15,000,000  lbs. 

These  figures,  however,  do  not  represent  unalloyed  profit. 
For,  strange  to  say,  whereas  in  past  years  cinchona-trees  three 
years  of  age  have  been  known  to  yield  upwards  often  per  cent. 
of  sulphate  of  quinine,  the  average  produce  now  shipped 
does  not  exceed  two  per  cent.  This  deterioration  of  quality, 
combined  with  the  enormously  increased  supply  now  thrown 

1  Planters  more  than  most  men,  can  only  learn  in  the  hard  scliool  of  expe- 
rience. Tims  ill  1884  half  a  million  of  cinchona  trees,  some  of  which  were 
sixteen  years  of  age,  were  killed  by  an  unusually  hard  frost  at  Ootacamnnd, 
in  the  Madras  Province.  By  tliis  unexpected  visitation  several  well-estab- 
lished plantations  were  almost  wholly  destroyed. 


300  IN    THE    PLANTING    DISTRICTS. 

on  the  market,  has  tended  very  seriously  to  reduce  the  com- 
mercial value  of  Ceylon  bark,  the  price  of  which  has  fallen 
so  low,  that  except  in  certain  specially  favourable  localities 
it  does  not  pay  to  collect  the  crop.  And  yet  some  country 
chemists  still  sell  quinine  at  a  very  small  reduction  on  the 
old  exorbitant  price.  It  is  said  that  quinine  manufacturers 
combined  against  the  producers  and  the  consuming  public 
in  order  to  keep  up  the  price ;  but  whatever  is  the  reason, 
the  planters  find  it  impossible  to  obtain  a  remunerative  price 
for  bark,  though  thousands  of  fever-stricken  people  and 
of  Chinamen  struggling  to  shake  off  the  bondage  of  opium 
crave  quinine  as  their  one  hope  of  salvation.^ 

When  young  trees  have  been  recently  stripped  or  shaved, 
a  careful  planter  supplies  them  with  an  artificial  garment  of 
dried  grass  or  old  newspaper !  That  any  plant  should  tole- 
rate such  a  substitute  for  lungs  seems  incredible ;  neverthe- 
less these  seem  to  flourish  under  this  treatment,  even  when 
repeated  in  successive  years.  Certainly  the  cinchona  is  a 
most  forgiving  shrub ! 

Besides  these,  which  are  of  course  the  leading  industries, 
many  smaller  cultivations   are  being  tried  experimentally, 

^  Mr.  J.  Ferguson,  of  the  '  Ceylon  Observer,'  writes  to  tlie  Secretary  of  tlie 
Society  for  the  Suppression  of  the  Opium  Trade  showing  liow  mucli  opium- 
eating  (laudanum  and  morphia  or  pure  opium)  may  be  counteracted  by  a 
liberal  use  of  quinine.  It  is  known  to  be  practised  to  a  verj'  serious  extent 
in  the  Fen  districts  of  Cambridge  and  Lincolnshire,  about  Gravesend  on  the 
Thames,  and  in  other  malarial  districts,  as  well  as  by  underfed  men  and 
women  in  unhealthy  houses  in  great  cities. 

He  quotes  Jlr.  Archibald  Colquhoun,  in  his  "  Journey  Across  Chryse,"  to 
show  how  many  Chinamen,  victims  to  this  curse,  realise  the  efficacy  of 
quinine  in  superseding  the  need  of  opium,  and  possibly  curing  the  craving  for 
it ;  and  how  both  mandarins  and  people  craved  for  a  pinch,  as  the  best  gift 
he  could  bestow  on  them.  He  shows  how  beneficial  this  tonic  would  also  be 
to  horses  and  cattle  in  malarial  regions,  if  only  it  could  reach  the  consumer 
at  anything  approaching  the  modest  price  which  would  pay  the  cultivator. 


A    PLAXTEIl's    LIFE.  301 

sucb  as  india-rubber,  cardamoms,  croton-oil  seed,  aloes,  on 
account  of  their  fibre,  &c. 

It  is  no  life  of  idleness  which  awaits  a  young  planter. 
Early  and  late  he  must  be  at  his  post,  in  foul  weather  and 
in  fine  ;  sometimes  for  weeks  together  living  in  a  continual 
state  of  soak,  with  rain  pouring  as  it  can  only  do  in  the 
tropics,  finding  out  all  the  weak  places  in  the  roof,  and 
producing  such  general  damp  that  nothing  is  dry,  and  boots 
and  clothes  are  all  covered  with  fungus.  Up  and  down  the 
steep  mountain-side  he  must  follow  his  coolies,  often  battling 
with  fierce  wind,  scrambling  over  and  under  great  fallen 
trees  and  rocks  and  charred  branches,  for  wherever  a  little 
bush  can  find  a  crevice,  there  he  must  go  to  see  that  it  has 
been  duly  tended.  For  it  is  not  enough  to  plant  a  bush 
and  leave  it  to  take  its  chance  ;  what  with  manuring  and 
handling,  pruning  and  picking,  there  is  always  something 
to  be  done.  In  the  case  of  coffee,  however,  the  great  mass 
of  work  comes  on  periodically  in  crop-time,  when  for  several 
consecutive  weeks  the  press  and  hurry  continue,  and  Sunday 
and  week-day  alike  know  no  rest. 

Nor  will  the  substitution  of  tea  culture  for  that  of  coffee 
lighten  the  planter's  work ;  on  the  contrary,  the  former  in- 
volves more  constant  care.  Coffee  crops  were  only  gathered 
at  definite  seasons,  and  work  on  the  plantation,  in  the  store, 
and  in  the  pulping-house  was  all  cut  and  dry,  the  rush  of 
work  being  compressed  into  two  or  three  months.  It  was 
simple  work,  requiring  less  special  training  and  care  than 
tea  cultivation. 

Tea-picking  goes  on  all  the  year  round,  and  the  curing 
requires  the  greatest  care  and  nicety  of  manipulation, 
and  constant  European  supervision.  The  work  involves 
lon(T  hours  nearly  every  day  of  the  whole  year,  and  is  i\ 


302  IN    THE    PLANTING    DISTIIICTS. 

great  and  continuous  strain  on  both  physical  and  mental 
powers. 

One  of  the  sorest  difficulties  with  which  the  planter  has 
ceaselessly  to  contend  is  the  washing  away  of  his  precious 
surface  soil  by  the  annual  heavy  rains,  which  carry  down 
lumdreds  of  tons  of  the  best  soil,  possibly  to  enrich  some  one 
else  in  the  low  country,  but  more  probably  to  be  lost  in 
the  ocean.  This  might  in  a  measure  be  obviated  by  more 
systematic  drainage,  but  that  of  course  means  more  coolies 
and  more  outlay,  and  both  of  these  are  serious  difficulties. 

Amongst  a  planter's  varied  anxieties  is  the  care  of  his 
coolies  when  they  fall  sick,  as  these  natives  of  the  hot  dry 
plains  of  Southern  India  are  very  apt  to  do  in  the  cold 
dreary  rainy  season  of  the  mountain  districts.  Occasionally 
a  very  serious  outbreak  of  illness  occurs,  when  perhaps  the 
nearest  doctor  is  far  away,  and  the  young  planter  is  thrown 
on  his  own  resources.  Such  was  the  outbreak  of  cholera 
which  occurred  in  July  1891  (a  terribly  rainy  season)  at 
Lebanon  in  Madulkele. 

An  epidemic  of  dysentery  ripened  into  cholera  of  so 
virulent  a  type  that  in  many  cases  death  ensued  within  six 
hours.  Some  coolies  who  had  turned  out  at  muster  at 
G  A.M.  were  dead  at  ten  the  same  morning.  There  were  in 
all  forty  bond  fide  seizures,  besides  a  crowd  of  frightened 
men  and  women  who  were  doctored  on  chance,  and  twenty- 
live  died  in  such  horrible  cramps  that  their  bodies  could 
not  be  straightened,  and  the  survivors  were  so  terrified  that 
it  was  difficult  to  compel  them  to  bury  the  dead. 

Imagine  how  terrible  a  charge  to  be  suddenly  thrown 
on  a  young  planter.^  He  proved  equal  to  the  emergency, 
however ;  physicked,  blistered,  and  rubbed  down  all  the 
^  ilr.  Thomas  Dickson. 


TAMIL    COOLIES.  303 

patients  with  bis  own  hands  till  an  experienced  cholera 
doctor  came  to  his  aid  from  Kandy.  Two  poor  fellows  died 
in  his  kitchen-verandah.  It  was  somewhat  remarkable  that 
of  the  twenty-five  deaths  only  six  were  women. 

Happily  such  a  terrible  experience  as  this  is  rare,  but 
there  are  continual  occasions  for  care  and  the  exercise  of 
much  discrimination  to  discern  between  illness  and  idleness 
— a  quality  which  does  sometimes  assert  itself  even  in  these 
energetic  and  industrious  Tamil  coolies,  who  are  the  back- 
bone of  all  island  labour.  In  days  of  old  these  immigrants 
from  the  mainland  invaded  Ceylon  as  ruthless  conquerors ; 
now  they  come  as  valuable  helpers  in  every  enterprise. 

How  important  a  place  they  occupy  may  be  gathered 
from  the  fact  that  there  are  always  from  200,000  to  300,000 
at  work  on  the  plantations  (in  the  time  of  the  Madras 
famine  in  1878  about  400,000  contrived  to  make  a  living 
in  Ceylon).  When  at  home  in  Southern  India,  their  average 
earnings  are  between  £3  and  £1  a  year,  on  which  they 
maintain  themselves  and  their  families,  always  reserving  a 
margin  for  temple-offerings. 

In  Ceylon  they  have  regular  work  and  regular  pay, 
earning  about  four  times  as  much  as  they  do  on  the  main- 
land, besides  receiving  certain  extras  in  kind — a  roof,  a 
bit  of  garden  in  which  to  grow  vegetables,  a  blanket,  and 
medical  attendance  in  sickness.  Their  staple  food  is  rice, 
of  which  an  enormous  supply  is  imported  from  the  main- 
land. A  man's  wages  range  from  !Ul.  to  Is.  a  day;  a 
woman  can  earn  about  7d.,  and  a  child  3d. ;  so  thry  are 
well  off*  and  generally  content,  their  relations  with  their 
employers  being  almost  invariably  kind.  On  every  estate 
there  is  a  long  row  of  mud  huts,  which  are  '^  the  coolie  lines," 
and  very  uninviting  (juarters  they  appear  to  Europeans. 


304  IN    THE    PLANTING    DISTRICTS. 

The  Singhalese  furnish  a  very  small  proportion  of  the 
estate  labourers,  and  are  chieilv  employed  when  extra  hands 
are  needed  for  light  work,  such  as  plucking  tea-leaf  in  the 
season  ;  for  although  no  one  can  get  through  hard  toil 
better  and  quicker  than  the  Singhalese,  they  have  a  fixed 
belief  that  all  work  is  derogatory  save  that  which  produces 
food  for  their  own  families.  So  although  they  work  well 
on  their  own  paddy-fields  (and  send  hardy  deep-sea  fishers 
to  the  north  of  the  Isle,  while  the  Tamil  fishers  stick  to  the 
shore),  they  contrive  to  earn  a  general  character  for  indo- 
lence, and  go  about  their  work  in  a  style  which  often 
reminded  me  of  a  certain  Ross-shire  boatman,  who  was 
supposed  to  provide  fish  for  the  laird's  table,  but  therein 
frequently  failed.  One  day  his  mistress  ventured  to  com- 
pare his  ill-filled  creel  with  that  of  a  visitor  on  an  adjoining 
estate,  mentioning  how  many  fish  he  had  brought  home. 
"  Oh  '  'deed,  I  weel  believe  it,"  was  the  reply.  '*'  Puir 
man  !  he'll  just  he  making  a  toil  of  it !  " 

The  Singhalese  are  said  to  be  somewhat  more  conscien- 
tious than  the  Tamil  coolies  as  regards  doing  well  what  they 
undertake.  At  the  same  time,  if  it  is  work  which  can 
possibly  be  done  by  women  and  children,  these  will  cer- 
tainly be  deputed  to  do  it.  I  think,  however,  that,  as 
regards  the  employment  of  deputies,  the  palm  must  be 
awarded  to  a  Malay  conductor,  who  was  asked  whether  he 
was  observing  the  fast  of  Ramadan.  He  replied  that  he 
was  not,  as  he  was  working  hard  and  required  his  food,  but 
that  lie  was  making  his  wife  keep  it ! 

Of  course,  on  estates  employers  take  care  that  their 
coolies  do  work  energetically,  but  as  a  specimen  of  really 
indolent  occupation  you  should  watch  a  gang  of  Govern- 
ment coolies  working  on  the  roads — those  excellent  roads 


BROKEN    BOTTLES    USED    AS    RAZORS.  305 

which  overspread  the  country  in  every  direction  like  a  net- 
work. In  spreading  metal,  one  powerful  man  fills  a  very 
small  basket,  which  another  strong  man  lifts  on  to  the  head 
of  a  woman,  who  walks  a  few  yards,  empties  it  on  to  the 
road,  and  then  returns  for  another  load. 

Then  when  the  roads  are  to  be  pounded,  a  gang  of  able- 
bodied  men  stand  in  a  group,  while  one  of  them  sings  a 
long  monotonous  ditty  rather  like  a  Gaelic  song,  and  at  the 
end  of  each  verse  of  four  lines  all  simultaneously  raise 
their  pounding  blocks  and  let  them  drop  with  a  thump  on 
the  road.  It  has  been  calculated  that  if  they  make  thirty 
strokes  in  an  hour,  they  are  above  the  average ! 

As  I  have  said,  these  poor  coolies  are  utterly  miserable 
in  rainy  weather,  although  the  planters  do  their  best  to 
clothe  them.  I  never  guessed  till  I  saw  these  gangs  what 
becomes  of  old  regimental  great-coats.  But  when  the  sun 
shines  and  their  scanty  drapery  has  been  recently  washed, 
and  large,  bright  turbans  well  put  on,  they  look  as  cheery 
as  one  could  wish,  and  the  women  especially  are  most 
picturesque,  with  their  fine  glossy  black  hair,  large  dreamy 
black  eyes,  and  numerous  ornaments  on  ears,  neck,  arms, 
and  ankles — some  indeed  only  of  painted  earthenware,  and 
the  majority  of  bell-metal,  but  others  of  real  silver,  massive 
but  of  coai'se  workmanship.  Their  gay  drapery  is  worn  in 
most  artistic  folds. 

Many  of  their  merry  little  brown  children  wear  no  clothes 
whatever,  even  their  heads  being  shaved  and  oiled,  all  save 
one  little  tuft  of  black  hair.  Shaving,  by  the  way,  is 
generally  done  with  bits  of  broken  bottles !  Sometimes 
you  see  pretty  little  girls  (Tamil)  whose  sole  decoration  is 
a  silver  fig-leaf  {Ficns  lielifjiosa),  very  suggestive  of  the 
legend   that  here   was    the    Paradise  of   our   first    parents ! 

VOL.  II.  U 


306  IN    THE    PLANTINC!    DISTRICTS. 

Some  poor  little  <,nrls  are  weighted  with  a  short,  heavy, 
leaden  chain  passed  through  a  slit  in  the  ear  where  Euro- 
pean women  wear  their  small  earrings.  By  long  weighting 
in  this  fashion,  the  poor  ear  can  be  lengthened  so  as  literally 
to  touch  the  shoulder,  and  is  then  loaded  with  rings — truly 
hideous  in  our  eyes,  and  involving  much  suffering  in  youth. 
But  pride,  Ihey  say,  feels  no  pain,  so  we  must  hope  that 
this  is  a  case  in  point.  The  top  of  the  ear  is  adorned  with 
a  small,  close-fitting  stud,  like  that  often  worn  on  one  side 
of  the  nose. 

One  of  the  first  things  that  struck  me  as  strange  on 
reaching  the  planting  districts  is  the  fact  that  the  names 
by  which  estates  are  known  to  Europeans  convey  nothing 
to  the  minds  of  the  men  who  work  on  them.  My  first 
experience  of  this  diflSculty  was  when  en  route  to  Mrs. 
Bosanquet's  pleasant  home  at  Rosita  in  Dimbula,  and  my 
Tamil  driver,  not  having  received  his  instructions  before 
starting,  drove  stolidly  on  for  fully  six  miles  beyond  the 
turning,  totally  ignoring  my  vain  expostulating  queries, 
"  Rosita  ?  "  "  Bosanquet  dorre  "  {i.e.,  master).  It  was  quite 
useless ;  so  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  drive  on  till 
I  espied  a  European  bungalow,  to  which  I  sent  a  written 
message,  which  happily  brought  a  tall  white  man  stalking 
down  through  the  coffee  to  say  we  must  bait  the  horse 
and  breakfast  at  his  house ;  where,  accordingly,  we  were 
most  hospitably  entertained,  and  then  duly  forwarded  to  our 
destination. 

Considering  that  all  the  coolies  are  Tamils  imported  from 
Southern  India,  one  would  naturally  suppose  that  they 
would  accept  whatever  name  the  owner  of  an  estate  has 
been  pleased  to  give  to  the  piece  of  forest  he  has  cleared  ; 
but  so  far  from  this  being  the  case,  there  is  scarcely  an 


ESTATES    KNOWN    BY    TWO    NAMES.  307 

estate  in  tlio  island  wliicli  is  not  known  to  Europeans  and 
their  labourers  under  totally  distinct  names,  so  that  even 
in  the  rare  case  of  a  Tamil  coolie  understandinof  Enoflish, 
lie  could  not  direct  you  to  an  estate  unless  you  spoke  of  it 
by  its  Tamil  name,  and  these  are  sometimes  very  confusing. 

Thus,  supposing  I  wish  to  visit  the  estate  of  Didoola,  I 
must  direct  my  coolies  to  Falla  Kaduganava ;  but  sup- 
posing I  am  on  my  way  to  Kaduganawa,  I  must  bid  them 
carry  me  to  Mudaliyartliottam.  I  scarcely  wonder  at  finding 
that  places  called  after  homes  in  Britain  retain  Singhalese 
names.  Thus  Abercairney  in  Dickoya,  and  Rosita  in 
Dimbula,  are  both  known  as  Sinnc  Kottagalla ;  Feteresso 
continues  to  be  known  as  Anandatvatte,  Glen  Cairn  as 
Manichamhantottc,  Gorthie  as  Hindafjalla,  Blair  Athol  as 
Slnne  Darrawdla,  Braemore  as  Kooda  Mcdlcapoo,  Fassifern 
as  Agra  Patena,  Waverley  as  Bopatelaioa,  Craigellachie  as 
Puthu  Jioad,  Malvern  as  Pcwtamhasi,  Windsor  Forest  as 
Pajah  Totam,  Duffus  as  Pusila  Totfam,  Forres  as  Nuga- 
wattic,  &c.  But  it  is  strange  to  find  that  even  genuine 
Singhalese  names  are  not  accepted  ;  as,  for  instance,  Ganga- 
roowa,  which  to  the  coolie  is  known  as  Jlaja  Tottivm,  while 
Oolanakanda  is  Ulankanthai,  Wewelkellie  is  Vcvagodde, 
Ouvahkellie  is  Kagagalla ;  while  in  some  cases  the  coolies 
know  estates  only  by  their  name  for  certain  firms  or 
companies,  e.g.,  Diyagama  is  only  recognised  as  Company 
Totum  :  Edinbur<]fh  and  Inverness  estates  are  both  Niltrherv 
Totum.  As  this  system  of  double  names  applies  to  about 
fifteen  hundred  estates,  the  new  arrival  in  any  district  must 
find  the  study  of  liis  "  Estates  Directory  "  an  essential  part 
of  his  education. 

In  looking  over  a  list  of  these  Highland  homes,  I  am 
struck  by  the  predominance  of  Scotch  names,  as  suggestive 


308  IN    THH    PLANTINC;    DISTRICTS. 

of  tlic  clinging  to  dear  old  associations  which  is  always  sup- 
posed specially  to  characterise  men  born  in  hilly  countries. 
In  the  low  country  this  inspiration  seems  to  be  lacking,  for 
in  a  list  of  about  350  cocoa-nut  estates,  I  only  find  four 
Scotch  names. 

I  will  not  attempt  to  give  details  of  the  pleasant  months 
I  spent  in  the  various  planting  districts,  for  I  fear  I  must 
have  already  tried  the  patience  of  my  readers.  I  can  only 
say  that  in  each  district  I  found  the  same  hospitable  wel- 
come, and  was  struck  with  the  cordiality  and  good-fellow- 
ship which  forms  so  marked  a  characteristic  of  life  among 
the  planters. 

Of  course  a  lover  of  beautiful  nature  cannot  but  mourn 
over  the  bleak  ugliness  of  range  beyond  range  of  mountains 
all  totally  denuded  of  any  vegetation  whatever  except  the 
very  monotonous  carefully-pruned  bushes,  growing  amid  the 
blackened  or  sun-bleached  stumps  of  what  but  a  little  while 
ago  were  noble  forest  trees,  now  standing  like  headstones  in 
some  vast  cemetery. 

Day  after  day  we  witnessed  marvellous  effects  of  opal 
light  and  strange  blue  mists,  telling  of  great  forest  burnings, 
and,  on  favourable  days,  marked  on  every  side  the  column 
of  dense  lurid  smoke  rising  from  some  glen  or  valley  that 
was  about  to  be  "improved."  At  several  of  these  ''burns" 
we  were  actually  present,  when  tracts  of  two  or  three  hun- 
dred acres  were  committed  to  the  flames,  and  for  hours  we 
watched  the  wild  conflagration  raging — a  scene  of  indescrib- 
able grandeur.  Sometimes  the  great  burnings  so  affected 
the  atmosphere  as  to  bring  on  tremendous  rain-storms,  and 
on  one  occasion,  when  we  had  to  ford  a  river,  we  got  across 
only  just  in  time  before  the  stream  came  down  in  flood. 

Out  of  so  many  thousand  acres  of  beautiful  timber  ruth- 


CORDIALITY    AND    GOOD    FELLOWSHIP.  309 

lessly  destroyed,  one  tree  excited  my  special  regret.  It  was 
a  majestic  banyan-tree,  which  had  occupied  the  only  piece 
of  quite  level  ground  at  the  Yoxford.  That  ground  was  the 
only  suitable  spot  for  the  erection  of  a  bungalow,  so  the 
grand  old  tree  had  been  felled,  and  the  ground  was  strewn 
with  its  huge  trunk  and  arms — a  sorry  sight ! 

As  regards  social  meetings,  men  gathered  from  far  and 
near  for  church  services,  especially  at  Christmas  and  New 
Year,  as  also  for  occasional  cricket-matches,  never  allowing 
their  energies  to  be  damped  by  any  amount  of  rain.  And 
sometimes,  as  a  very  great  event,  there  was  a  cheery  ball, 
when  the  principal  coffee-store  in  the  district  was  swept  out 
and  elaborately  decorated  as  a  ball-room,  and  the  nearest 
bungalow  was  given  up  to  the  ladies  to  dress  and  sleep  in, 
as  they  had  probably  ridden  over  hill,  valley,  and  torrent 
for  many  miles  to  attend  the  unwonted  festivity. 

At  the  time  of  my  visit  to  Dimbula,  there  were  actually 
thirty-five  ladies  in  the  district — a  true  sign  of  prosperity — 
and  a  ball  was  not  a  matter  of  indifference  to  either  sex  ; 
indeed,  the  hearty  honest  enjoyment  of  existence  among  the 
planters,  and  the  zest  with  which  they  enter  into  whatever 
business  or  pleasure  is  the  order  of  the  day,  is  one  of  the 
pleasantest  features  of  life  in  the  mountain  districts. 


310 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

ASCENT  OF  Adam's  peak. 

Adam's  Peak — The  Sri  Pada,  or  Holy  Foot — Footprints  in  Britain — 
In  Sicily— Of  Vishnu— Of  St.  Thomas— Of  Hercules— Of  Monte- 
zuma— Of  Buddha  and  Siva — Adam  and  Moses — Ascent  of  Alle- 
galla,  Kurunegalla,  and  Adam's  Peak. 

The  first  impressions  of  the  traveller  approaching  Ceylon 
must  in  a  great  measure  depend  on  the  state  of  the  atmos- 
phere. In  some  seasons  he  will  see  only  the  monotonous 
levels  of  the  low  country  ;  at  other  times  the  mountain  ranges 
of  the  interior  are  clearly  visible,  the  whole  crowned  by  one 
sharp  pinnacle,  about  fifty  miles  inland  from  Colombo. 

That  pinnacle  is  pointed  out  to  him  as  Adam's  Peak  ;  but 
if  he  knows  aught  of  the  story  of  the  Isle,  he  will  know  that 
is  only  the  name  given  to  it  by  foreigners,  and  founded  on 
the  legend  as  taught  them  by  some  Mahommedan;  but  though 
called  by  many  names,  each  denoting  sanctity,  it  is  em- 
phatically known  to  all  inhabitants  of  Ceylon,  of  whatever 
creed,  as  The  Sri  Pada — The  Holy  Foot,  so  named  on 
account  of  a  natural  mark  on  the  extreme  summit,  which, 
to  the  eye  of  faith,  was  in  remote  ages  in  some  degree  sug- 
gestive of  a  huge  footprint,  and  was  accordingly  revered  as 
a  miraculous  token  of  the  place  having  once  been  visited 


REVERED    FOOTPRINTS.  311 

by  some  supernatural  beiui,'  (it  must  have  been  in  the  days 
when  giants  walked  the  earth). 

As  various  creeds  developed,  the  adherents  of  each 
claimed  The  Footpiunt  as  that  of  their  own  ideal,  and  so 
this  particular  mark  has  attained  a  celebrity  far  above 
those  on  any  of  the  numerous  rocks  similarly  reverenced 
in  other  lauds. 

And  very  curious  it  is  to  note  iu  how  many  parts  of 
the  world  certain  rocks  have  from  time  immemorial  been 
places  of  sacred  pilgrimage  on  account  of  some  natural 
indentation  bearing  some  resemblance  to  a  gigantic  human 
footprint. 

These  have  generally  been  somewhat  elaborated  by  pious 
hands,  which  define  the  toes  and  perfect  the  outline,  and 
the  footprint  then  becomes  an  object  of  the  most  devout 
homage  to  thousands  of  human  beings,  who  believe  it  to 
be  the  true  spot  of  earth,  hallowed  for  evermore  by  the 
fact  that  it  was  the  first  or  the  last  touched  either  by  the 
founders  of  their  religion  (whatever  that  may  happen  to 
be)  or  by  some  venerated  hero. 

We  need  not  go  far  for  one  example,  for  in  our  own 
little  isle  our  favourite  British  hero  is  thus  commemorated. 
At  Tintagel,  in  Cornwall,  where  the  ruins  of  King  Arthur's 
castle  stand,  on  the  summit  of  a  projecting  crag  rising  from 
the  sea,  and  connected  with  the  mainland  only  by  a  narrow 
neck  of  land  (a  spot  once  well-nigh  inaccessible,  and  only 
to  be  reached  by  steep  steps  cut  in  the  rock),  a  large  un- 
shapely mark,  deeply  impressed  on  a  big  boulder,  is  said  to 
be  the  footprint  of  the  great  pure  king. 

Not  far  otf  a  modern  footprint  is  shown,  which,  as  years 
roll  on,  will  doubtless  be  revered  as  that  of  the  great  good 
queen,  for  on  the  pier  at  St.  Michael's  Mount  an  inlaid  brass 


312  ASCKNT  OF  ADAM  S  PEAK. 

marks  the  first  footprint  of  Queen  Victoria  on  the  occasion 
of  her  visit  with  the  I'rince  Consort  in  1846. 

Students  of  Hindoo  mythology,  or  travellers  who  have 
ventured  to  invade  the  temples  of  Vishnu,  will  doubtless 
remember  the  reverence  accorded  to  many  footprints  as- 
cribed to  that  god,  whose  votaries  are  distinguished  by 
curved  lines  daily  painted  on  their  forehead  in  white,  red, 
or  yellow  lines,  as  the  symbol  of  his  sacred  foot  or  feet,  as 
the  case  may  be,  as  different  sects  dispute  as  to  the  pro- 
priety of  thus  indicating  one  foot  or  two.  So  the  sect 
which  is  in  favour  of  only  one  foot  indicates  it  by  one 
curved  line  of  white  between  the  eyes,  crossed  by  a  red 
mark  in  honour  of  his  wife.  Another  sect  indicates  both 
feet  resting  on  two  lotus  blossoms ;  and  so  bitter  are  the 
disputes  concerning  these  frontal  emblems,  that  as  the 
same  images  are  worshipped  by  both  sects  in  the  same 
temples,  ruinous  lawsuits  sometimes  arise  between  the 
two  factions  as  to  which  mark  shall  be  impressed  on  the 
images  !  ^ 

Thus  painted  or  engraved  representations  of  Vishnu's 
feet  enter  largely  into  his  worship.  At  the  great  annual 
festival  held  in  his  honour  in  the  month  of  May  at  Con- 
jeveram  (forty  miles  to  the  south  of  Madras) — a  festival 
which  is  attended  by  an  incalculable  multitude  of  wor- 
shippers— one  of  the  priests  in  immediate  attendance  on 
the  image  of  Vishnu  carries  a  golden  cup  within  which  is 
engraven  the  likeness  of  Vishnu's  feet ;  and  the  chief  crav- 
ing of  each  individual  in  that  vast  surging  throng  is  to 
struggle  for  a  place  so  close  to  the  procession  that  the 
priest  who  bears  the  cup  may  let  it  rest  for  one  moment 
on  his  head — a  touch  ensuring  blessing  in  this  and  in  all 
1  See  "  In  the  Himalayas,"  pp.  23,  24.     Chatto  &  "Wiiidus. 


CHPJSTIAX    ADAPTATION    OF    HEATHKN    LEGENDS.      313 

future  lives.  "  Wilt  thou  not  come  and  place  thy  flowery 
feet  upon  my  head  ?  "  is  the  fervent  prayer  of  each  longing 
soul.^ 

Knowing  the  policy  which  has  led  the  Church  of  Rome 
in  all  heathen  countries  as  far  as  possible  to  adapt  Chris- 
tian legends  to  all  objects  specially  venerated  by  the  people 
(thus  sanctioning  their  continuance  of  a  homage  which  could 
not  be  at  once  uprooted),  we  need  not  wonder  to  find 
rortuguese  writers  attributing  these  revered  rock-marks  to 
Christian  saints ;  and  De  Couta  records  how,  in  his  time, 
a  stone  at  Colombo  bore  the  deep  impress  of  the  knees  of 
St.  Thomas,  who  had  previously  worn  a  similar  hollow  on 
a  rock  at  Meliapore,  near  Madras.  How  his  poor  knees 
must  have  ached  ! ' 

Even  at  the  present  day,  the  Roman  Catholic  Cliristians 
of  Ceylon  make  pilgrimage  to  the  footprint  on  Adam's 
Peak,  as  to  that  of  St.  Thomas,  though  some  Portuguese 
writers  attribute  it  to  the  eunuch  of  Candace.  In  Valen- 
teyn's  account  he  says  the  mountain  was  esteemed  most 
sacred  by  the  Catholics  of  India,  while  Percival  related 
that  "  the  Roman  Catholics  have  taken  advantage  of  the 
current  superstition  to  forward  the  ])ropagation  of  tlieir 
own  tenets,  and  a  chapel  which  they  have  erected  on  the 
mountain  is  yearly  frequented  by  vast  numbers  of  l»lack 
Christians  of  the  Portuguese  and  Malabar  races." 

Of  an  early  Christian  saint  of  the  Western  Ciiurch  it  is 

'  I  scarcely  like  to  coinjiarc  words  fioiii  Holj*  Scripture  in  tliis  con- 
nection, but  there  is  a  curious  exanii)le  of  Oriental  j)liraseoloiry  in  I.saiah 
Ix.  14,  15,  where  it  is  written,  "All  they  that  despised  thee  shall  bow 
themselves  down  at  tho  soles  of  thy  feet.  ...  I  will  make  the  place  of  Wy 
Feet  glorious." 

-  At  Anuradhapura  two  marks  on  tlic  granite  ]>avement  of  the  Kuanwelli 
Daj;oba  are  pointed  out  as  havinr;  been  worn  by  the  knees  of  the  devout  King 
Batiya-tissa,  who  reij^'ncd  from  19  n.c.  to  a.d.  9. 


314  ASCENT    OF   ADAMS    PEAK. 

recorded  ])y  Willebad  (an  Anglo-Saxon,  who  in  the  year 
A.D.  76 1  journeyed  in  Sicily)  that  he  was  shown  "  her  shoe- 
prints  "  in  the  prison  at  Catania. 

In  the  Church  of  the  Ascension  on  the  Mount  of  Olives 
a  rock  is  shown  within  the  chapel  having  a  natural  cavity, 
described  as  tlie  footprint  of  our  Lord.  The  earliest  record 
of  this  mark  is  that  by  Arculf,  who  mentions  the  impres- 
sion of  two  footprints.  Now  there  is  only  one,  with  no 
resemblance  to  any  foot. 

In  days  of  old,  Herodotus  told  of  a  gigantic  footprint 
on  a  rock  near  Syras  in  Scythia,  and  which  was  believed  to 
be  that  of  Hercules  ;  and  in  the  New  World  we  find  the 
Mexicans  revering  a  mark  on  a  huge  block  of  porphyry 
which  they  suppose  to  have  been  imprinted  by  the  imperial 
foot  of  Montezuma. 

Few  who  have  entered  the  British  Museum  can  have 
failed  to  note  the  casts  of  sculptures  from  the  ancient  Tope 
of  Amravati  in  Southern  India  which  adorn  the  walls  of 
the  grand  stairs,  and  the  attention  of  many  has  doubtless 
been  arrested  by  two  slabs  on  each  of  which  are  sculptured 
only  two  footprints.  To  the  devout  Buddhists  these  double 
footmarks  are  said  to  have  symbolised  the  invisible  presence 
of  Buddha — a  tenet,  however,  wholly  unwarranted  by  his 
own  teaching. 

Passing  up  these  stairs  to  that  corner  of  the  new  gallery 
which  is  devoted  to  Buddhist  mythology,  we  note  a  great 
stone  slab  on  which  is  sculptured  one  huge  footprint  nearly 
five  feet  in  length.  The  whole  is  covered  with  elaborate 
symbolic  carving,  and  each  toe  is  adorned  with  a  curious 
object  like  a  large  spiral  shell.  The  outline  of  this  foot  is 
defined  by  a  raised  border,  originally  carved  in  a  pattern 
like  scale-armour,  but  at  a  later  period  this  has  been  coated 


MAXV    IlOfKS    THUS    SAN(  TIFIKl).  315 

with  plaster  and  encrusted  with  bits  of  looking-glass  and 
coloured  glass  representing  gems.  All  that  is  known  of 
the  history  of  this  once-venerated  object  is  that  it  was 
brought  from  Burmah  by  Captain  Marryat ;  but  by  wliat 
means  be  obtained  it,  or  to  what  mountain  or  temple  it  f<»r- 
merly  attracted  devout  worshippers,  there  is  unfortunately 
no  record. 

Happily  for  the  archajologist,  the  uKjst  celebrated  of 
these  great  footprints  are  on  immovable  rock-boulders. 

It  seems  probable  that  there  are,  or  have  been,  a  con- 
siderable number  of  rocks  thus  sanctified  wherever  the 
religion  of  Buddha  has  held  sway,  for  Hiouen-Tiisiang,  the 
celebrated  Chinese  [lilgrini,  who  devoted  the  years  between 
A.D.  G29  and  G15  to  visiting  all  the  most  noted  shrines  of 
India,  makes  continual  allusion  to  having  seen  among  tlicir 
sacred  objects  the  footprints  left  by  Tathagata  (by  which 
name  he  describes  Buddha),  where  he  walked  to  and  fro 
preaching  the  law. 

Such  preaching  was  described  as  "  turning  the  wheel  of 
the  law  ;  "  hence  a  simple  wheel,  sometimes  overshadowed 
by  the  honorific  umbrella,  is  a  frequent  symbol  in  Bud- 
dhism ;  ^  and  among  the  very  ancient  sculptures  at  the  Sanchi 
Tope  and  elsewhere  we  find  representations  of  Buddha's 
feet,  on  which  are  depicted  the  symbolic  wheel  and  tiie 
swastica  (the  latter  is  a  peculiar  mark,  somt'thing  between  a 
cross  ami  a  (ireek  fret). 

Hiouen-Thsiang  also  relates  strange  legends  concerning 
the  actual  feet,  telling  how,  whi-n  the  body  of  I'.udilha  was 
about  to  be  burnt  at  Kusinagara,  after  it  had  been  swathed 
in    a    thousand    napkins    an(l    encloscil    in    a    heavy   coflin, 

'   "III  tlie  Hiinaliiyas,"   "The  Sacrcl   Wli«-cl."  pp.    430-434.      ("hatto   k 

Wiinlu.s. 


oKI  ASCENT    OF    ADAM's    PEAK. 

which  rested  on  a  funeral  pyre  of  scented  wood,  lo !  at  that 
moment  Tathagata  revealed  his  feet,  causing  them  to  pro- 
ject from  the  colli ii,  and  his  favourite  disciple,  Kasyapa, 
saw  that  tliey  hore  the  sign  of  the  wheel  and  other  marks 
of  various  colours  ;  and  as  he  marvelled  what  these  could  be, 
the  dead  spoke,  and  told  him  that  these  were  the  marks  of 
tears,  which  gods  and  men,  moved  by  pity,  had  wept  be- 
cause of  his  death.  (I  may  observe  that  two  lotus  blossoms 
bearing  the  marks  of  Buddha's  feet  are  among  the  subjects 
which  are  most  frequently  represented  in  the  sacred  pictures 
of  Japan.) 

At  the  present  day,  in  the  province  of  Behar  in  India, 
and  also  in  Siam,  at  Prabat,  near  Bangkok,  several  temples 
glory  in  the  possession  of  rocks  exhiljiting  these  revered 
traces  of  Gautama  Buddha — doubtless  the  very  rocks  of 
which  Hiouen-Thsiang  wrote. 

A  still  more  ancient  Chinese  traveller,  Fa  Hiau,  who 
visited  Ceylon  a.d.  llS,  tells  of  two  sacred  footprints  of  Fo 
{i.e.,  Buddha),  one  of  which  lay  quite  in  the  nortli  of  the 
island.  More  recent  Chinese  writers  attribute  the  mark  on 
Adam's  Peak  to  Pwan-koo,  the  first  man. 

Fourteen  hundred  and  sixty  years  later  I  too  followed 
the  pilgrim  path  to  visit  several  such  footprints.  The  one 
mentioned  by  Fa  Hian  in  the  far  north  is  now  forgotten, 
but  1  found  one  on  the  summit  of  Allegalla  Peak,  another 
on  a  mountainous  mass  of  red  rock  at  Kurunegalla,  and  a 
third  (which  is  emphatically  The  Footpkint)  on  the  summit 
of  Adam's  I'eak. 

I  was  also  shown  marks — confessedly  artificial — in  the 
])uddhist  temples  at  Cotta  and  at  the  Alu  Vihara,  where 
they  are  simply  revered  as  models  of  the  True  Footprint  on 
the  summit  of  the  Peak.     Another  at  the  temple  of  Kelany, 


GREAT  BODIES  FOR  GREAT  SOULS.       317 

near  Colombo,  has  the  credit  of  being  genuine,  and  is 
declared  by  the  sacred  Buddhist  books  to  be  so,  having  been 
imprinted  by  Gautama  Buddha  when  he  appeared  on  his 
third  visit  to  Ceylon  to  preach  to  tlie  Nagas  or  Snake-wor- 
shippers. But  this  mark  is  imprinted  on  a  rock  in  the 
middle  of  the  river,  and  the  cool  rushing  waters  circling 
around  it  in  ceaseless  homage  overflow  and  conceal  it  from 
the  eyes  of  men.  This  is  the  legend  told  of  a  deep  eddy  in 
the  Kelani-Ganga. 

Yet  another,  confessedly  of  recent  manufacture,  is  shown 
on  the  summit  of  the  great  rock  of  Isuru-muniya,  a  very 
ancient  rock-temple  at  Anuradhapura.  It  is  reached  by  a 
flight  of  rock-cut  steps. 

A  peculiarity  of  all  these  footprints  is  their  gigantic  size, 
the  smallest  which  I  have  seen  being  that  on  the  western 
summit  of  Allegalla,  which  is  only  4  feet  6  inches  by  2  feet ! 
Those  on  Kurunegalla  and  on  Adam's  Peak  are  each  G  feet 
in  length,  as  I  proved  by  lying  down  full  length  on  them 
in  absence  of  the  guardian  priests !  But  to  the  eye  of  faith 
this  is  no  hindrance,  for  according  to  Mahommedan  tradi- 
tion, Adam  was  the  height  of  a  tall  palm-tree  (the  tomb  at 
Yeddah,  near  Mecca,  which  is  reverenced  as  that  of  Eve, 
is  70  feet  in  length).  Buddha  likewise  is  said  to  have 
been  27  feet  in  height,  and  this  is  about  the  proportion 
which  he  bears  to  other  saints  in  Japanese  pictures.  But 
in  every  country  where  he  is  worshipped,  especially  in 
China  and  Japan,  there  are  cyclopean  images  of  him  far 
taller  than  that.^ 

As  regards  Siva  and  Saman,  who  also  receive  credit  for 
the  big  footprint,  they,  being  gods,  could  of  course  assume 
any  size  they  pleased. 

^  Seo  page  125. 


318  ASCENT    OF    ADAM'S    PEAK. 

Most  of  the  world's  revered  footprints  have  been  appro- 
priated by  the  Buddhists,  who  have  not  scrupled  to  manu- 
facture a  considerable  number.  I  visited  one  of  the  latter 
class  ill  Chinn,  on  a  rock  within  the  Temple  of  the  Five 
Genii,  in  the  heart  of  the  city  of  Canton — a  temple  where 
the  homage  bestowed  on  the  footprint  is  quite  secondaiy  to 
that  accorded  to  five  rough-hewn  stones,  which  represent 
five  celestial  rams,  on  which  the  five  good  genii  descended 
to  Canton.^ 

Even  the  grave  Mahommedans,  with  all  their  theoretic 
abhorrence  of  everything  savouring  of  superstition  or  idola- 
try, reverence  various  rock-marks  which  they  affirm  to 
have  been  the  footprints  of  prophets  or  great  saints.  Of 
course  the  most  venerated  relic  of  this  class  is  that  at 
Mecca,  where,  within  the  sacred  enclosure  of  the  Kaaba 
(that  little  temple  which  to  all  Llahommedans  is  the  holy 
of  holies),  there  is  a  small  building  erected  over  a  sacred 
stone,  which  they  believe  to  have  been  brought  thither  by 
Abraham,  and  on  which  he  stood  while  building  the  Kaaba. 
It  bears  the  impress  of  his  two  feet,  the  big  toes  being 
deeply  indented.  Into  these,  devout  pilgrims  pour  water, 
and  drink  thereof,  and  also  wash  their  faces  as  a  symbolic 
purification.  Tliis  stone  is  always  kept  covered  with  a  veil 
of  pure  silk  ;  it  nmst  on  no  account  be  mixed  with  cotton. 
Three  different  veils  are  kept  for  use  in  different  years,  one 
green,  one  black,  and  one  red ;  all  are  embroidered  in  gold. 

Another  greatly  revered  Mahommedan  relic  is  the  foot- 
print of  Moses  at  Damascus.  Over  this  sacred  rock  has 
been  built  a  mosque,  which  more  than  five  hundred  years 
ago  bore  the  name  of  "  The  Mosque  of  the  Foot."  It  was 
visited  about  the  year  a.d.  1321  by  the  celebrated  Moorish 

'  "Wanderings  in  China."     C.  F.  Gordon  Cummin^.     Vol.  i.  p.  49. 


EARLY    LEGENDS    OF   THE    FOOTPRINT.  319 

pilgrim,  Ibn  Batuta,  who,  fired  with  a  desire  to  visit  every 
place  deemed  sacred  by  Mahommedans,  started  from  his 
native  city  of  Tangiers,  and  for  twenty-eight  years  (when 
travel  was  a  very  different  matter  to  our  easy  journeys 
now-a-days)  wandered  in  ceaseless  pilgrimage  from  shrine 
to  shrine. 

At  Shiraz  he  visited  the  tomb  of  the  saintly  Abu  Abd 
Allah,  who,  he  says,  first  "  made  known  the  way  from  India 
to  the  Mountain  of  Serendib,"  i.e.,  Adam's  Peak  in  Ceylon. 
As  this  saint  died  early  in  the  tenth  century,  it  is  evident 
that  Mahommedans  had  ere  then  accepted  the  footprint  on 
the  summit  of  the  Peak  as  that  of  Adam — an  idea  which, 
strangely  enough,  they  seem  to  have  adopted  from  the  cor- 
rupt serai-Christian  Gnostics,  who  borrowed  a  little  from 
every  creed,  not  even  omitting  snake-worship,  and  who  gave 
special  pre-eminence  to  Adam,  as  the  original  man. 

In  a  Coptic  manuscript  of  the  fourth  century,  which  is 
attributed  to  Yalentinus  the  Gnostic,  there  occurs  a  most 
curious  passage,  in  which  our  Saviour  is  represented  as 
telling  the  Blessed  Virgin  that  he  lias  appointed  an  angel 
to  be  the  special  guardian  of  the  footstep  impressed  by  the 
foot  of  leu  (i.e.,  Adam).  It  is  understood  that  this  passage 
has  reference  to  Adam's  Peak,  and  it  is  the  oldest  record 
we  possess  of  its  sanctity. 

The  legend  thus  attached  to  it  by  the  Gnostics  was 
adopted  by  the  Arabs,  and  so  it  came  to  be  accepted  by 
Mahommedans  in  general,  all  of  whom  reverence  Adam  as 
the  purest  creation  of  Allah,  and  so  rank  him  above  all 
patriarchs  and  prophets — the  first  of  God's  vicegerents  upon 
earth. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  this  Gnostic  legend  of  the  foot- 
print was  rejected  by  the  early  Christians  of  purer  creed, 


320  ASCENT    OF    ADAMS    PKAK. 

and  so  Moses  of  Chorene,  Patriarch  of  Alexandria,  writing 
in  the  fourtli  or  fifth  century,  affirms  it  to  be  undoubtedly 
the  mark  of  Satan,  who  alighted  here  when  he  fell  from 
heaven ! 

According  to  the  orthodox  teaching  of  the  Koran,  Para- 
dise was  not  on  this  earth,  but  in  the  seventh  heaven ; 
and  when  Adam  was  ejected  thence,  it  was  he,  and  not 
Satan,  who  alighted  on  the  Peak,  and  here  he  remained 
standing  on  one  foot  for  about  two  centuries,  striving  by 
penance  to  expiate  his  crime ;  hence  the  mark  worn  on 
the  rock.  Poor  Eve  tumbled  into  Arabia,  and  landed  at 
Yeddah,  near  ]\Iecca,  whither,  when  these  centuries  were 
ended,  the  Archangel  guided  Adam,  who  brought  her  back 
to  live  in  Ceylon,  as  the  best  substitute  for  Paradise  that 
earth  could  give.  Both,  however,  are  said  to  have  been 
carried  back  to  Mecca  for  burial. 

Whatever  the  varieties  of  creed  that  exist  in  this  fair 
Isle,  all  alike  agree  in  their  reverence  for  this  one  high  pin- 
nacle, and,  most  marvellous  to  relate,  all  meet  to  worship 
side  by  side  on  the  sacred  summit  in  peace  and  amity. 

While  the  Mahommedans  crowd  here  to  do  homage  to  the 
memory  of  Adam,  the  Tamils  ^  believe  that  the  footprint 
is  that  of  one  of  their  gods,  the  worshippers  of  Siva  claim 
it  as  his  mark,  while  the  votaries  of  Yishnu  ascribe  it  to 
Saman,  who,  in  India,  is  worshipped  under  the  name  of 
Lakshmana.  He  was  the  brother  of  Rama,  one  of  the  in- 
carnations of  Vishnu,  whose  invasion  of  Ceylon  to  rescue 
his  beautiful  wife,  Sita,  from  the  demon-king,  Eavana,  is 
celebrated  in  the  Eamayana,  a   nice    little    epic   poem  of 

^  Some  of  these  are  the  descendants  of  the  old  Malabar  conquerors  of 
Ceylon  ;  others  are  constantly  being  imported  from  the  mainland  by  the 
planters  as  labourers.     Most  of  these  are  of  the  Hindoo  religion. 


KNOWN    BY    MANY  NAMES.  321 

9G,000  Hues !  Being  a  descendant  of  the  sun,  Saman's 
image  is  always  painted  yellow,  and  to  him  are  consecrated 
the  scarlet  rhododendron  blossoms  which  glorify  the  moun- 
tain summit. 

It  is  in  his  honour  that  the  butterflies — true  children 
of  the  sun — bear  the  name  of  Samanaliya.  They  are  sup- 
posed to  be  especially  dear  to  him  because  of  the  vast 
flights  which  sometimes  stream  from  all  parts  of  the  Isle, 
all  tending  in  the  direction  of  the  Peak ;  hence  it  is  sup- 
posed that  they  too  are  on  pilgrimage  to  do  homage  to  the 
holy  footprint.  (If  it  seems  strange  that  the  Singhalese 
should  call  their  exquisite  butterflies  by  the  name  of  a 
Hindoo  god,  we  must  remember  that  Buddhism  is  so  very 
accommodating  and  all-absorbing  that  many  Hindoo  idols 
are  worshipped  in  Buddhist  temples.) 

Very  various  are  the  names  bestowed  by  all  these  reli- 
gious bodies  on  the  shapely  cone,  which  has  been  so  well 
described  as  the  sacred  citadel  of  ancient  religious.  To 
the  Hindoos  of  all  sects  it  is  the  Mount  Swangavrhanam, 
"  The  ascent  to  heaven ; "  but  the  Sivites  distinguish  it  as 
Siva-noli-padam,  while  to  the  Yishnuvites  it  is  Samanala  or 
Saman-takuta.  To  the  Mahommedan  Moormen  it  is  Baba- 
Adamalei,  which  is  the  equivalent  of  the  European  name 
Adam's  Peak,  while  to  the  Buddhist  the  term  Sri  Pada, 
"  The  Footprint,"  is  all  expressive. 

Thus  as  clouds  ever  float  around  the  loftiest  mountain 
summit,  so  have  the  legends  of  many  races  gathered  round 
this  high  pinnacle,  which  consequently  possesses  for  Oriental 
minds  a  concentrated  essence  of  sanctity  altogetiier  inde- 
scribable. 

To  the  most  careless  traveller  its  natural  beauty  oflers 
an  irresistible  attraction,  and  never  shall  I  forget  my  first 

VOL.  II.  X 


322  ASCENT   OF    ADAM'S    PEAK. 

glimpse  of  it  as  seen  from  the  sea,  when  we  were  still 
some  miles  distant  from  the  coast,  the  mountain  apparently 
(though  not  really)  far  overtopping  all  others.  There,  in 
the  early  dawn,  it  stood  revealed — a  deep  blue  peak  cutting 
clear  against  a  golden  sky.  To  reach  this  high  point  be- 
came the  desire  of  my  heart,  but  many  months  elapsed  ere 
I  accomplished  it. 

Meanwhile  I  found  welcome  in  a  lovely  home  nestling 
high  on  the  face  of  a  mountain  scarcely  less  beautiful  than 
Adam's  Peak,  though  its  name  is  comparatively  unknown 
to  the  world  in  general.  This  is  Allegalla  Peak,  which 
towers  majestically  above  the  low  wooded  hills  and  the 
rice-fields  of  the  lowlands,  its  own  slopes  being  clothed 
with  the  richest  vegetation  and  the  lovely  foliage  of  many 
varieties  of  palm. 

On  a  glorious  day,  when  not  a  cloud  veiled  the  tranquil 
blue  heaven,  we  reached  the  summit  of  this  Peak,  which 
we  found  to  be  really  a  double  summit,  connected  by  a 
rock-saddle.  The  eastern  peak  is  crowned  with  palms,  as 
beseems  so  brave  a  mountain,  but  our  steps  were  attracted 
to  the  western  peak,  for  there,  on  a  rounded  slab  of 
rough  red  rock,  is  imprinted  the  footmark  to  which  the 
inhabitants  of  this  district  do  homage.  I  do  not  believe 
that  it  has  any  pretension  to  be  a  genuine  article,  but  it 
is  a  convenient  representative  of  the  true  footprint  on  the 
summit  of  Adam's  Peak,  which,  though  about  forty  miles 
distant,  we  saw  clearly  on  the  horizon,  towering  above  a 
sea  of  low-lying  white  mist. 

This  is  a  perfect  footmark,  4  feet  6  inches  in  length 
by  2  feet  in  width.  Before  it  is  a  rude  stone  altar,  on 
which  some  worshippers  had  laid  their  offering  of  flowers 
and  fruit,  and  the  clear  water,  which  lay  in  a  hollow  of  the 


MODELS   OF   THE   HOLY    FOOTPRINT.  323 

scorcliiiig  rock,  suggested  that  it  had  been  carried  thither 
and  poured  out  on  the  footprint  as  an  act  of  worship.  As 
we  looked  across  the  sea  of  white  mist  enfolding  the  base  of 
the  distant  Sri  Pada,  a  long  line  of  swiftly  advancing  light 
rounding  the  face  of  the  precipice  far  below  us  marked  the 
express  train  rushing  down  from  Kandy  to  Colombo,  sug- 
gesting a  strange  contrast  between  the  pilgrims  who  through 
so  many  centuries  have  toiled  up  that  hill  of  difliculty,  and 
the  luxurious  travellers  of  these  later  days  rushing  on  in 
their  ceaseless  race  against  time. 

About  twenty  miles  to  the  north  of  AUegalla  ^  is  Kurune- 
galla,  wliich  foreigners  used  to  call  Kornegalle,  and  which 
is  said  to  derive  its  name  from  a  gigantic  rounded  mass  of 
red  rock  shaped  like  a  beetle. 

Here,  in  the  court  of  an  ancient  temple,  the  object  of 
special  veneration,  is  a  "Holy  Foot"  cut  in  the  rock.  It  is 
the  right  foot ;  it  is  six  feet  in  length,  and  points  north- 
east. It  is  avowedly  only  a  model  of  the  true  footprint, 
but  it  has  the  advantage  of  being  several  hundred  years 
old,  having  been  cut  to  assist  the  devotions  of  the  ancient 
kings  of  Kandy  and  the  ladies  of  that  royal  house,  when,  in 
the  first  half  of  the  fourteenth  century,  Kurunegalla  was  the 
capital  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  royal  residence  was  situated 
at  the  base  of  the  crag,  where,  beneath  the  shadow  of  noble 
old  trees,  carved  stones  and  broken  columns  still  mark 
the  spot. 

From  this  rock  Adam's  Peak  is  visible  in  a  direct  line  to 
the  south,  and  one  of  my  most  delightful  reminiscences  of 
Ceylon   is  of  a  moonliglit  night  spent  on  its  summit.      I 

1  0(tlla  means  rock.  I  had  occasion  to  rcfor  to  tlieso  two  crops  iu  tho 
last  chapter,  but  I  trust  my  readcra  will  excuse  my  recalling  ihcm  lu  this 
connection. 


324  ASCENT    OF    ADAMS    PEAK. 

think  part  of  its  charm  lay  iu  the  knowledije  that  probably 
not  half-a-dozen  white  women  liad  accomplished  the  ascent, 
for  though  it  really  is  not  very  difficult  to  a  good  scrambler, 
it  is  the  fashion  to  consider  it  a  very  great  feat,  and  almost 
all  the  gentlemen,  who  had  themselves  been  to  the  summit, 
jeered  at  the  idea  of  my  accomplishing  it.  It  occurred  to 
me,  liowever,  that  I  could  probably  climb  quite  as  well  as 
the  Singhalese  and  Tamil  women  of  all  ages,  who  year  after 
year  toil  up  here  for  the  good  of  their  souls. 

In  China  I  heard  how,  among  the  crowds  of  pilgrims 
who  annually  travel  from  most  distant  districts  to  worship 
on  the  summit  of  the  sacred  Mount  Tai-Shan,  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Shantung,  and  who  end  their  toilsome  journey  by 
five  miles  of  steep  climbing,  a  spectator  observed  a  com- 
pany of  old  women,  of  whom  the  youngest  was  seventy- 
eight  and  the  oldest  ninety  years  of  age.  With  infinite 
pain  and  toil  these  earnest  pilgrims  had  accomplished  a 
journey  of  300  miles  from  south  of  Honan,  their  special 
object  being  to  plead  the  merit  of  their  life-long  fast  from 
fish  and  flesh,  and  to  crave  a  happy  transmigration  for  their 
souls. 

Naturally  I  thought  that  if  poor  old  women  of  fourscore 
and  tea  could  accomplish  such  feats  as  these,  I  need  not  be 
discouraged ;  so  I  kept  this  aim  ever  in  view  during  the 
most  pleasant  of  pilgrimages,  travelling  by  easy  stages  from 
one  coffee  estate  to  another,  halting  at  bungalows  which 
bear  such  names  as  Blair  Athol,  Glen  Tilt,  Moray,  and 
Forres,  strangely  homelike  sounds  to  my  ears,  and  sugges- 
tive of  the  colony  of  genial  Scotchmen  whom  I  found  settled 
in  every  corner. 

I  prefer,  however,  to  speak  of  "  Britons,"  for  my  kind 
entertainers  included  men  and  women  from  England,  Scot- 


ON'    THE    PILCRIM's    PATH.  325 

land,  aud  Ireland.  One  of  these  I  had  last  known  in  Lou- 
don as  a  smart  "  raan-about-town,"  whose  special  vanity  lay 
in  his  "gardenia  button-holes."  Here  the  gardenias  formed 
a  fragrant  and  luxuriant  hedge,  hut  the  busy  planter  cared 
more  for  the  snow-white  flowers  and  scarlet  cherries  of  the 
bright  green  coffee  bushes  which  he  aud  his  regiment  of 
coolies  had  planted  with  so  much  toil  among  the  charred 
stumps  of  the  burnt  forest — tiny  green  bushes  in  a  blackened 
waste. 

In  every  direction  save  one,  we  looked  out  on  an  endless 
expanse  of  undulating  mountain  ranges,  all  clothed  witli  the 
same  monotonous  little  bushes,  replacing  the  beautiful  pri- 
meval forest,  which,  however,  happily  still  remained  almost 
intact  on  the  ranges  close  to  the  Peak,  which  seemed  to 
tower  from  these  lower  ranges  right  uj)  to  heaven,  while  in 
the  foreground  beautiful  groups  of  trees,  spared  as  yet  by 
ruthless  axe  and  flame,  lay  mirrored  in  the  clear  waters  of 
the  Mahavelli-Ganga. 

One  comfortable  home  in  which  I  was  hospitably  enter- 
tained has  been  aptly  named  "  Bunyan,"  in  irresistible  allu- 
sion to  the  "  Pilgrim's  Projjress,"  being  riudit  on  the  i)ilgrims' 
path. 

When  my  friends  found  I  was  really  bent  on  making 
the  ascent,  a  little  band  of  stalwart  planters  soon  arranged 
all  details  for  a  jiilgrimage,  and  a  very  jdeasant  one  it 
proved.  It  was  in  the  month  of  January,  and  we  were 
favoured  with  ideal  weather  and  a  faultlessly  clear  atmos- 
phere. 

Starting  from  Glen  Tilt,  in  the  M.iskeliya  district,  we 
walked  or  rode  as  far  as  "  Forres,"  '  where  we  slept,  in  onier 

1  To  nie  a  very  familiar  name,  the  town  of  Forres,  in  Moraysliire,  bcin;; 
only  tliree  miles  from  Altyro,  my  birtliplacc. 


326  ASCENT  OF  Adam's  peak. 

to  be  fresh  for  a  very  early  start  next  morning.  It  lies  at 
the  very  foot  of  tlie  Peak,  or  rather  of  a  long  shoulder, 
along  which  we  toiled  for  four  hours,  till  we  reached  an  am- 
bulam,  or  pilgrim's  rest-house,  at  the  foot  of  the  actual  cone. 

I  had  hoped  that  I  could  have  been  carried  thus  far  in 
a  dandy,  which  is  a  strip  of  canvas  hung  on  a  bamboo, — a 
mode  of  travelling  the  advantages  of  which  I  had  often 
proved  in  my  Himalayan  wanderings, — but  as  the  track 
lay  up  and  down  frightfully  steep  ravines,  or  else  through 
forest  so  thick  that  the  long  bamboo  pole  could  not  make 
its  way,  I  had  soon  to  give  up  this  attempt,  and  join  the 
walkers,  consoling  myself  for  the  extra  fatigue  by  the  beauty 
of  the  undergrowth  of  ferns,  and  the  wonderful  variety  of 
lovely  tints,  rich  madder,  sienna,  crimson,  delicate  pink,  and 
pale  green,  all  due  to  the  young  foliage,  which  here  is  ever 
developing  all  the  year  round. 

Gay  caladium  leaves  mingled  with  a  profusion  of  deli- 
cate maiden-hair  fern,  while  here  and  there  wild  bignonias 
or  brilliant  balsams  claimed  admiration,  as  did  also  a  luxu- 
riant sort  of  stag's-horn  moss,  and  an  occasional  tuft  of 
violets  or  forget-me-nots. 

Having  started  at  daybreak,  we  were  all  very  glad  of  a 
halt  for  breakfast  beneath  the  rough  shelter  of  the  said  rest- 
house,  which  is  merely  an  open  shed.  Happily  we  had 
brought  mats  of  talipat-palm  leaf,  which  we  spread  on  the 
floor,  and  thereon  rested.  Only  for  our  eyes  there  was  no 
rest,  as  we  gazed  upwards  at  the  majestic  cone  shaped  like 
a  gigantic  bell,  and  towering  right  above  us,  cutting  sharp 
against  the  deep  blue  sky.  The  other  side  of  the  ravine 
presented  a  front  of  mighty  precipices. 

At  this  halting-place  there  are  a  few  tiny  shops,  chiefly 
for  the  sale  of  curry-stuffs  for  the  pilgrims,  and  much  we 


THE    PILGRIMS.  327 

marvelled  to  see  the  multitudes  of  bottles  of  eau-de-cologne 
— genuine  Jean  Marie  Farina — at  one  shilling  a  bottle. 
Of  course  I  invested,  thinking  it  would  at  least  do  to  burn 
in  my  Etna,  but  little  did  I  guess  what  a  villainous  com- 
pound it  was,  which  the  very  irreligious  mercliant  pawned 
off  on  devout  pilgrims  as  a  meet  offering  wherewith  to  anoint 
the  holy  footprint. 

The  pilgrims  are  a  never-failing  crop.  All  the  year 
round  they  come  and  go,  but  their  special  season  is  at  the 
spring  festival  in  April  and  May,  just  when  the  rains  are 
at  their  height,  and  mountain  torrents  are  liable  to  rise 
suddenly  and  detain  them  for  days,  subject  to  all  manner 
of  hardships  ;  but  these,  I  suppose,  only  add  to  the  merits 
of  the  pilgrimage,  for  the  sanctity  of  the  season  prevails, 
and  the  pilgrims  press  on  in  a  continuous  stream  amount- 
ing to  thousands  annuallv.  The  feebleness  of  old  ase  is  no 
drawback — grey-bearded  grandfathers  and  wrinkled,  tooth- 
less old  hags  are  escorted  by  all  their  family,  and  sometimes 
a  tottering  old  granny  is  borne  on  the  back  of  a  stalwart 
son, — a  true  deed  of  filial  devotion, — while  mothers  help 
their  toddling  little  ones  up  the  steep  ascent  which  is  to 
secure  for  them  such  special  blessing. 

Some  have  travelled  from  the  mainland  of  India,  others 
from  the  farthest  districts  of  the  Isle,  long  and  ttjilsome 
journeys ;  and  when  they  reach  the  base  of  the  holy  mount, 
they  are  so  near  the  accomplishment  of  their  lieart's  ilesire, 
that  all  weariness  is  well-nigh  forgotten,  and  over  and  anon 
the  stillness  of  the  dense  forest  is  l^roken  by  the  echo  of  the 
shout  of  praise,  "  Satidu  !  Saiidu  !  "  which  is  tiie  U4uivalent 
of  "  Hallelujah  !  Hallelujah  !  " 

The  great  mass  of  pilgrims  approach  the  mountain  from 
the    south    vid   Katnapura,   "  the    city    of    rubies,"    which. 


328  ASCENT    OF   ADAM's    PEAK. 

unless  the  accounts  which  have  been  published  are  very 
highly-coloured,  must  involve  far  more  dillicult  climbing 
and  scrambling  than  anything  we  had  to  do.  When  they 
have  ascended  about  150  very  ancient  rock-hewn  steps, 
attributed  to  good  King  Prakrama  Bahu  I.,  himself  a 
pilgrim,  they  come  to  a  most  romantic  bathing-place  over- 
shadowed by  large  trees.  This  is  just  above  a  granite  pre- 
cipice, over  which  the  Sita-Ganga  ^  hurls  itself  on  to  the 
boulders  far  below. 

In  these  chill  waters  the  pilgrims  must  bathe,  and  so 
purify  themselves  ere  completing  the  ascent  of  the  Holy 
Mount  along  precipitous  faces  of  rock,  where  their  only 
safety  lies  in  gripping  the  iron  chains  which  adventurous 
climbers  have  placed  here  for  the  benefit  of  weaker  heads. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  traditions,  legends,  and  myths 
attach  to  each  rock  and  turn  on  the  pilgrim  path  ;  each  over- 
hanging cliff,  each  gushing  spring,  each  rippling  rivulet  that 
rushes  down  the  water-worn  ravines  has  its  own  story, 
in  many  cases  vague  and  dreamy  as  the  mists  which  float 
around  the  towering  pinnacle.  But  as  regards  practical 
details,  it  is  well  to  consult  a  trustworthy  pilgrim ;  and  as 
Lawrence  Oliphant  ascended  the  Peak  from  the  Ptatna- 
pura  side,  I  may  as  well  quote  what  he  says  on  the  subject, 
for  the  benefit  of  any  one  M'ho  may  be  undecided  as  to  which 
route  to  select.     He  says  : — 

"  We  passed  the  night  at  a  native  house  in  one  of  the 
higher  villages,  and  leaving  our  horses  there,  on  the  follow- 
ing morning  pursued  our  way  on  foot  amid  scenery  which 
at  every  step  became  more  grand  and  rugged,  the  path  in 
places  skirting  the  edge  of  dizzy  precipices,  at  the  base  of 
which  foamed  brawling  torrents. 

^  Garuja  means  river. 


LAWRENCE    OLIPHAXT's    ASCENT.  329 

"  The  way  was  often  rendered  dangerous  by  the  roots  uf 
large  trees,  which,  having  become  slippery  by  the  morning 
mist,  stretched  across  the  narrow  path,  and  one  of  these 
nearly  cost  me  my  life.  Tiie  path  at  the  spot  was  scarped 
on  the  precipitous  hillside  ;  at  least  300  feet  below  roared 
a  torrent  of  boiling  water,  when  my  foot  slipped  on  a  mot, 
and  I  pitched  over  the  sheer  cliff.  I  heard  the  cry  of  my 
companion  as  I  disappeared,  and  had  quite  time  to  realise 
that  all  was  over,  when  I  was  brought  up  suddenly  by  the 
spreading  branches  of  a  bush  which  was  growing  upon  a 
projecting  rock.  There  was  no  standing  ground  anywhere, 
except  the  rock  the  bush  grew  upon. 

"  Looking  up,  I  saw  my  companion  and  the  natives  who 
were  with  us  peering  over  the  edge  above,  and  to  their 
intense  relief  shouted  that  so  far  I  was  all  right,  but  dared 
not  move  for  fear  the  bush  would  give  way.  They,  how- 
ever, strongly  urged  my  scrambling  on  to  the  rock  ;  and  tliis, 
with  a  heart  thumping  so  loudly  that  I  seemed  to  hear  its 
palpitations,  and  a  dizzy  brain,  I  succeeded  in  doing. 

"  The  natives,  of  whom  there  were  five  or  six,  then  undid 
their  long  waistcloths,  and  tying  them  to  each  otlier,  and  to 
a  piece  of  cord,  consisting  of  the  united  contributions  of  all 
the  string  of  the  party  and  the  packages  they  were  carrying, 
made  a  rope  just  long  enough  to  reach  me.  Fastening  this 
iinder  my  armpits,  and  holding  on  to  it  with  the  energy  of 
despair,  or  perhaps  I  should  rather  say  of  hope,  I  was  safely 
hauled  to  the  top. 

"  This  adventure  was  not  a  very  good  preparation  fur 
what  was  in  store  for  us,  when  not  very  far  from  the  top 
we  reached  the  mauvais  pas  of  the  whole  ascent.  Here 
a^ain  we  had  a  precipice  with  a  torrent  at  the  liottom  of 
it  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  an  overhanging  cliff — nut 


330  ASCENT    OF    ADAM's    PEAK. 

metapliorically  overhanging,  but  literally  its  upper  edge 
projected  some  distance  beyond  the  ledge  on  which  we 
stood  ;  it  was  not  above  forty  feet  high,  and  was  scaled  by 
an  iron  ladder, 

"  The  a^onisin"  moment  came  when  we  had  mounted 
this  ladder  to  the  projecting  edge,  and  had  nothing  between 
our  backs  and  the  torrent  some  hundreds  of  feet  below,  and 
then  had  to  turn  over  the  edge  and  take  hold  of  a  chain 
which  lay  over  an  expanse  of  bare  sloping  rock,  to  the  links 
of  whicli  it  was  necessary  to  cling  firmly,  while  one  hauled 
one's  self  on  one's  knees  for  twenty  or  thirty  yards  over  the 
by  no  means  smooth  surface. 

"My  companion  was  so  utterly  demoralised  that  he  roundly 
declared  that  nothing  would  induce  him  to  made  the  descent 
of  the  same  place." 

I  am  happy  to  say  that  no  such  difficulties  attended  our 
ascent  from  the  Maskeliya,  Dickoya,  and  Dimbula  side. 

Our  ascent  of  the  actual  cone  commenced  immediately 
after  leaving  the  aforesaid  rest-house.  We  crossed  a  clear 
crystal  stream  rushing  downward  from  the  summit  (such 
as  when  swollen  by  sudden  storm  might  well  prove  a 
serious  hindrance  to  returning  pilgrims).  Then  entering 
a  deep  fern-clad  ravine,  we  struggled  steadily  upward,  and 
a  very  stiff  climb  it  proved,  like  that  of  the  very  steepest 
stair  up  an  old  cathedral  tower  a  thousand  feet  high.  This 
continued  for  two  and  a  half  miles,  sometimes  in  dark,  cool 
forest,  sometimes  along  a  face  of  bare  precipitous  rock  ex- 
posed to  scorching  sun.  The  path  is  like  the  bed  of  a 
watercourse,  coming  straight  down  from  the  summit,  with 
thick  jungle  on  either  side.  The  ravine  is  so  narrow  that 
it  is  necessary  to  go  single  file,  and  it  really  is  a  serious 
difficulty  to  meet  pilgrims  on  their  downward  way.     At 


ALEXANDER    THE    GREAT.  331 

intervals  on  either  side  of  the  road  there  are  cairns  of 
small  stones  heaped  up  by  pilgrims,  just  like  those  on  the 
summit  of  Puji-yama,  and  in  the  Himalayas  and  in  Scot- 
land. 

I  got  some  help  by  passing  a  rope  round  my  waist  and 
sending  two  coolies  ahead  with  the  ends  of  it,  which  gave 
some  support  and  a  gentle  upward  impetus.  Happily  some 
royal  pilgrims  of  old  had  flights  of  steps  cut  on  the  almost 
vertical  slabs  of  slippery  rock.  Some  of  the  steps  certainly 
are  very  high,  but  the  difficulty  is  greatly  overrated,  and  in 
fair  weather  there  is  no  danger  whatever,  though  the  iron 
chains  which  hang  along  the  face  of  a  precipice  at  the 
summit  are  said  to  be  really  necessary  for  the  pilgrims  to 
hold  on  by  on  stormy  days ;  indeed,  the  great  iron  chains 
by  which  the  roof  of  the  Httle  shrine  is  affixed  to  the  rocks 
all  round  tell  the  same  story  of  the  wild  sweeping  of  tem- 
pestuous winds  and  storms,  which  often  rage  around  the 
summit  and  invest  the  Peak  with  dread. 

These  chains  are  said  to  have  been  originally  placed  here 
by  Alexander  tlie  Great,  whom  the  Mahommedans  affirm  to 
have  climbed  the  pinnacle  about  B.C.  330,  to  do  homage  to 
the  footprint  of  Adam.  Ibn  Batuta,  describing  his  ascent 
of  the  Peak  in  the  fourteenth  century,  tells  how  a  ridge 
at  the  base  of  the  cone  bears  the  name  of  the  Conqueror, 
as  does  also  a  water-spring,  at  which  all  pilgrims  slake  their 
thirst;  and  Ashref,  a  Persian  poet  of  the  following  century, 
tells  how,  in  order  to  facilitate  the  difficult  and  dangerous 
ascent,  Alexander  caused  stanchions  to  be  fixed  in  the  face 
of  the  cliff  to  sustain  iron  chains,  by  holding  on  to  which 
they  were  able  to  scale  the  precipitous  rock  without  danger. 
Whoever  has  the  merit  of  first  placing  the  chains,  there 
they  remain  to  the  present  day. 


332  ASCIiNT    OF    ADAMS    PEAK. 

We  accounted  ourselves  rarely  fortunate  in  being  favoured 
with  a  day  of  calmest  sunshine,  for  most  evenings,  both 
before  and  after  our  expedition,  closed  with  terrific  thunder- 
storms, and  for  hours  together  the  Peak  was  veiled  in  dark 
clouds,  so  we  had  fully  reckoned  on  the  possibility  of  such 
a  night  of  awe.  Instead  of  this,  on  reaching  the  summit, 
our  eyes  were  gladdened  with  a  magnificent  view  of  the 
whole  island,  outstretched  on  every  side.  All  around  lay 
a  vast  expanse  of  forest-clad  mountain  ranges — the  whole- 
sale destruction  of  the  forests  to  prepare  the  way  for  cul- 
tivation being  less  conspicuous  from  this  point  than  from 
many  others ;  and  far  away,  beyond  wide  sweeps  of  park- 
like country,  traversed  by  silvery  lines  which  mark  the 
course  of  rivers,  and  vanishing  in  a  soft  blue  haze,  a  line 
of  glittering  light  revealed  the  presence  of  the  encircling 
ocean. 

All  this  we  beheld  at  a  glance,  when,  after  a  final  steep 
climb  up  the  huge  naked  rock,  about  forty  feet  high,  which 
forms  the  mountain  crown,  we  reached  a  morsel  of  level 
ground  which  lies  about  ten  feet  below  the  summit,  from 
which  point  a  level  pathway  has  been  constructed,  forming 
an  oval  of  about  65  by  45  feet,  passing  round  the  Peak, 
so  as  to  enable  pilgrims  to  perform  the  three  orthodox 
turns,  following  the  course  of  the  sun,  by  keeping  the  right 
hand  next  to  the  rock  all  the  time.  The  outer  edge  of 
this  path  is  happily  protected  by  a  low  stone  wall.  Sorely, 
indeed,  must  the  sunwise  turns  have  tried  dizzy  heads  ere 
this  was  built  by  some  pious  pilgrims.^ 

So  steep  are  the  precipitous  sides  of  this  mighty  cone, 

^  1  have  noted  numerous  instances  of  "  sunwise  turns  "  round  all  manner 
of  sacred  objects,  in  "  In  the  Himalayas,"  pp.  4,  250,  359,  430,  529,  551,  584, 
590.    Also  "  In  the  Hebrides,"  pp.  241-245.    Published  by  Chatto  &  Windus. 


TEMPLE   ON   THE   SUMMIT.  333 

that  one  marvels  how  the  gnarled  old  rhododendron  trees 
have  contrived  to  gain,  and  continued  to  retain,  their  hold 
on  the  rock,  or  how  they  find  sustenance.  There  they  are, 
however,  with  their  glossy  leaves  and  crimson  blossoms,  as 
gay  as  though  rooted  in  the  richest  peat  soil,  instead  of 
being  fed  chiefly  by  the  dews  of  heaven. 

A  final  ascent  of  about  ten  steps  brings  us  to  the  ex- 
treme summit  of  the  Peak,  7352  feet  above  the  sea.  It  is 
crowned  by  a  picturesque  little  wooden  temple,  consisting 
merely  of  a  light  overhanging  roof,  supported  on  slender 
columns,  and  open  to  every  wind  of  heaven — such  winds 
as  would  carry  it  to  the  sea  were  it  not  for  the  strong 
iron  chains  passing  over  it.  Beneath  this  canopy  lies  The 
FooTPKiNT,  revered  not  only  by  about  four  hundred  million 
Buddhists,  but  also,  as  I  have  just  stated,  by  Hindoos  and 
Mahommedans  without  number,  and  even  by  Eoman  Catholic 
Christians. 

Happily  for  us,  ascending  at  the  end  of  January,  we 
arrived  before  the  annual  stream  of  pilgrims,  so  we  found 
only  a  handful — a  very  varied  selection,  however,  beginning 
with  our  own  party,  which  included  divers  European  nation- 
alities, while  the  Oriental  creeds  were  represented  by  an  old 
Hindoo  Yogi  in  saffron-coloured  robes,  and  wearing  a  large 
rosary  of  black  beads ;  he  had  come  from  the  Punjab  to 
worship  Siva,  while  his  neighbour,  a  Mahommedau  priest,  had 
travelled  all  the  way  from  Lahore,  in  Northern  India,  to 
do  homage  to  Adam  on  this  sacred  spot.  lie  found  the 
mountain  air  exceedingly  cold,  and  crouched  over  his  fire, 
wrapped  in  a  gorgeous  patchwork  quilt,  smoking  his  hubble- 
bubble.  Several  Christians  from  the  Malabar  Coast  were 
intent  on  the  worship  of  St.  Thomas. 

Strange   to   say,   the    only   representative   of   Buddhism 


a.n.  ASCENT    OF    ADAM's    PEAK. 

present  was  a  .small  bny  of  the  Amarapoora  sect,  who  slept 
a[)art  beneath  an  overhanging  rock  near  our  hut,  where  we 
heard  him  singing  his  midnight  prayers  most  devoutly.  He 
was  a  pretty  little  fellow,  and  the  yellow  robes  of  Buddha 
harmonised  well  with  his  clear  brown  skin  and  dark  eyes. 
A  wretched  little  hut,  on  the  level  just  below  the  summit, 
is  reserved  for  the  use  of  the  senior  priests,  who,  however, 
liave  more  comfortable  quarters  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain 
when  not  on  duty  here.  We  were  told  that  the  venerable 
high-priest  of  the  Peak  lives  up  here  a  good  deal  during 
the  pilgrim  season. 

While  I  made  a  careful  drawing  of  the  scene,  my  com- 
panions were  hard  at  work  preparing  our  night  quarters. 
Happily  there  still  remained  the  walls  of  a  hut  which  was 
built  on  the  occasion  of  Lady  Eobinson's  ascent ;  so  this  was 
quickly  cleaned  out,  thickly  carpeted  with  bamboo  grass, 
and  roofed  with  the  large  mats  of  talipat-palm  leaf  which 
we  had  so  fortunately  brought  with  us ;  so  in  the  course  of 
a  couple  of  hours  we  had  a  capital  two-roomed  house  ready. 
This  had  the  merit  of  standing  a  little  apart  from  the 
pilgrims,  and  was  perched  upon  rocks  fringed  with  ferns 
and  sweet  pink  orchids,  and  overshadowed  by  rhododendron 
trees. 

Suddenly,  about  twenty  minutes  before  sunset,  to  our 
intense  delight,  the  far-famed  shadow  of  the  Peak  fell  east- 
ward athwart  the  plain,  like  a  blue  spirit-pyramid  resting, 
not  on  the  ground,  but  on  the  atmosphere ;  for  instead  of 
assuming  the  forms  of  the  mountains,  it  lay  in  a  faultless 
triangle  ("  an  isosceles  triangle,"  observed  one  of  the  party, 
last  from  Oxford),  the  lines  as  straight  as  if  they  had  been 
ruled,  although  the  object  casting  the  so-called  shadow  is  a 
ragged  cone. 


THE  SHADOW    OF   THE    PEAK.  335 

I  suppose  it  is  due  to  the  fact  of  the  sun  being  so  much 
larger  than  the  earth  that  its  level  rays,  divided  by  the 
base  of  the  mountain,  seem  to  meet  again  on  the  opposite 
horizon.  But  such  prosaic  speculation  as  to  its  cause  found 
no  place  in  our  thoughts  while  gazing  spell-bound  on  this 
wondrous  apparition,  which  each  moment  grew  wider  at 
the  base,  while  lengthening  till  it  touched  the  ocean  on 
the  eastern  horizon,  and  the  sun  sank  beyond  the  western 
waves. 

When  the  last  glories  of  the  afterglow  had  faded  away, 
we  had  a  most  cheery  dinner  by  a  moonlight  so  clear  that 
we  could  distinguish  the  whole  island  outspread  far  below 
us  right  away  to  the  sea.  Our  thinly-clad  coolies  suffered 
much  from  cold,  and  so  tried  to  warm  themselves  by  danc- 
ing round  their  fires — a  curious  wild  scene.  Tlie  gentlemen 
encouraged  the  dancers,  and  strove  to  warm  them  by  admi- 
nistering small  drams  of  brandy,  which  they  received  in 
the  pahn  of  the  hand,  crouching  at  the  feet  of  the  dorre — 
t.c,  "  master." 

While  this  was  going  on,  I  crept  up  to  the  now  deserted 
shrine,  and  stood  there  alone  beside  the  rock-mark,  which 
in  all  ages  has  inspired  such  amazing  reverence  in  millions 
of  my  fellow-creatures.  During  the  regular  pilgrim  season 
the  shrine  is  all  hung  with  white  cloths,  and  the  sacred 
footprint  is  covered  by  a  model  of  itself  made  of  brass, 
inlaid  with  pieces  of  coloured  glass,  which  is  the  modern 
substitute  for  the  original,  which  was  of  pure  gold,  inlaid 
with  precious  gems,  and  which  was  seen  here  by  Dutch 
travellers  who  ascended  the  Peak  in  1654. 

In  Valentyn's  account  of  the  Sri  Pad  a  in  March  1G51 
he  says,  "  The  priests  showed  our  people  a  gold  plate  repre- 
senting the  length  and  breadth  of  the  foot,  on  which  were 


3:30  ASCENT    OF    ADAM  S    PEAK. 

various  fi^'ures,  which  tliey  said  were  formerly  to  be  seen 
on  tlie  footprint  itself;  but  tliat  after  the  priests  allowed 
them  to  be  engraved  on  the  gold,  they  disappeared  from  the 
stone.  These  fi^^ures  were  sixty-eight  in  number,  and  may  be 
seen  fi^^'ureil  by  IJaLlieus  in  iiis  description  of  Coromandel, 
fol.  151,  with  other  matters  relating  thereto." 

Terliaps  the  very  elaborate  symbols  sculptured  on  the 
Burmese  footprint  in  the  British  Museum  may  afford  some 
clue  to  these  vanished  figures. 

Strange  to  say,  among  the  offerings  presented  at  the 
shrine  fifty  years  ago  was  an  embossed  silver  covering  for 
the  ureat  footmark,  the  gift  of  Sir  E.  W.  Horton,  who  held 
ofllce  as  British  Governor  from  1831  to  1837,  and  who  thus 
emphasised  the  proclamation  made  in  the  name  of  His 
Majesty  King  William  IV.,  that  protection  would  be  con- 
tinued to  all  rites  and  usages  of  the  Buddhist  religion. 

When  Hoffmeister  made  the  ascent  in  1844,  he  found  the 
footprint  enclosed  within  a  golden  frame  studded  with  gems 
of  considerable  size,  of  which,  however,  he  pronounced  that 
only  a  few  were  genuine. 

I  had  the  better  fortune  to  see  the  rock  unadorned,  and, 
if  the  truth  must  be  confessed,  being  anxious  to  measure 
it  accurately  for  myself,  I  lay  down  full  length  on  it,  and 
found  it  to  be  4^  inches  longer  than  myself,  whereby  I 
proved  it  to  be  just  6  feet  in  length.  I  was  told  that 
the  breadth  at  the  toes  is  32  inches  ;  that  at  the  heel 
is  2G  inches.  The  natural  mark  is  merely  a  slight  indenta- 
tion, 8  inches  deeper  at  the  toes  than  at  the  heel,  but  the 
imaginary  outline  of  the  foot  has  been  emphasised  by  a  rim 
of  plaster,  coloured  to  match  the  rock.  The  toes  have  also 
been  defined.     The  footprint  points  north-west. 

According  to  a  tradition  quoted  in  Chinese  records  of  the 


A    SEA    OF    MIST.  337 

sixteeutli  century,  tlie  hollow  of  the  footprint  should  contain 
a  never-failing  supply  of  fresh  water,  supplied  from  heaven, 
and  which  cures  all  diseases.  I  am  told  that  many  sick  folk 
make  this  toilsome  pilgrimage  on  purpose  to  drink  of  this 
water  of  life.  I  can  only  hope  that  they  do  not  often  find 
the  rock  as  dry  as  it  was  on  this  occasion !  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  well  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  which,  although  its 
waters  are  less  sacred,  is  nevertheless  credited  with  miracu- 
lous cures,  and  this  also  has  been  duly  recorded  by  observant 
Chinese  travellers  of  the  fourteenth  century.  So  you  see, 
the  farther  you  travel,  the  more  surely  you  will  prove  that 
there  is  nothing  really  new  under  the  sun ! 

After  a  while  chilling  mists  began  to  arise  from  the  deep 
valleys  and  to  creep  up  the  mountain-side,  and  I  was  glad 
enough  to  join  the  merry  party  beside  the  blazing  fire,  and 
tlien  to  seek  rest  in  the  little  hut,  truly  thankful  for  the 
kind  forethought  which  had  supplied  so  goodly  a  store  of 
warm  blankets. 

Ere  the  first  glimmer  of  dawn  I  stole  forth  to  look  down 
upon  the  wondrous  sea  of  white  mist,  which  seemed  to 
cover  the  whole  Isle  with  one  fleecy  shroud,  a  strangely 
eerie  scene,  all  bathed  in  the  pale  spiritual  moonlight. 
Ever  and  anon  the  faint  breeze  stirred  the  billowy  surface, 
and  a  veil  of  transparent  vapour  floated  upward  to  play 
round  the  dark  summits  of  the  surrounding  hills,  which 
seemed  like  innumerable  islands  on  a  glistening  lake.  One 
of  these,  bearing  the  name  of  Uuo  Dhia  Parawatia — a  grand 
square-shaped  rock  mass — towers  high  above  the  surround- 
ing ridges  of  densely  wooded  hills. 

The  stars  were  still  shining  brilliantly,  while  eastward 
the  pale  primrose  light  was  changing  to  a  golden  glow. 
Sometimes  the  uprolling  clouds  floated  as  if  enfolding  us, 

VOL.  n.  Y 


338  ASCENT    OF   ADAMS    PEAK. 

drifting  beneath  our  feet  as  thouj^h  the  solid  earth  were 
passing  away  from  under  us. 

Wonderful  and  most  impressive  was  the  stillness.  Just 
bcforti  daybreak  my  ear  caught  tlie  ascending  murmur  of 
voices,  and  peering  down  the  mountain-side,  I  discerned 
the  glimmering  torches  which  told  of  the  approach  of  a 
pihrim  band  toiling  up  the  steep  ravine,  bent  on  reaching 
the  summit  ere  sunrise. 

Judging  from  my  own  experience,  I  should  have  thought 
they  could  have  little  breath  to  spare,  Nevertheless,  they 
contrived  to  cheer  the  way  with  sacred  chants,  and  very 
wild  and  pathetic  these  sounded  as  they  floated  up  through 
the  gloom  of  night. 

At  last  the  topmost  stair  was  reached,  and  as  each  pilgrim 
set  foot  on  the  level  just  below  the  shrine,  he  extinguished 
his  torch  of  blazing  palm-leaves,  and  with  bowed  head  and 
outstretched  arms  stood  wrapped  in  fervent  adoration.  Some 
knelt  so  lowlily  that  their  foreheads  rested  on  the  rock. 
Then  facing  the  east — now  streaked  with  bars  of  orange 
betwixt  purple  clouds — they  waited  with  earnest  faces, 
eagerly  longing  for  the  appearing  of  the  sun,  suggesting  to 
my  mind  a  strikingly  Oriental  illustration  of  the  words  of 
the  poet-king,  "My  soul  waiteth  for  the  Lord  more  than 
tliey  that  watch  for  the  morning."  ^ 

Gradually  the  orange  glow  broadened,  and  the  welling 
light  grew  clearer  and  clearer,  imtil,  with  a  sudden  bound, 
up  rose  the  glorious  sun,  and,  as  if  with  one  voice,  each 
watcher  greeted  its  appearing  with  the  deep-toned  •"  Saadu  ! 
Saiidu ! "  which  embodies  such  indescribable  intensity  of 
devotion. 

Beautiful  in  truth  was  that  radiant  light,  which,  while 
^  Bible  version  of  Psalm  cxxx.  6. 


THE    SHADOW    SEEN    AT    SUNRISE.  339 

the  world  below  still  lay  shrouded  in  gloom,  kissed  this  high 
summit  and  the  glowing  blossoms  of  the  crimson  rhododen- 
dron trees,  and  lent  its  own  brightness  to  the  travel-stained 
white  garments  of  the  pilgrims. 

But  while  these  gazed  spell-bound,  absorbed  in  worship,  we 
quickly  turned  westward,  and  there,  to  our  exceeding  joy, 
once  more  beheld  the  mighty  shadow  falling  right  across 
the  Island,  and  standing  out  clear  and  distinct — a  wondrous 
pyramid  whose  summit  touched  the  western  horizon.  The 
world  below  us  still  lay  veiled  in  white  mist,  now  tinged 
with  a  delicate  pink,  as  were  also  the  mountain-tops,  which 
rose  so  like  islands  from  that  vaporous  sea.  But,  right 
across  it  all,  the  great  spectral  triangle,  changing  from  deli- 
cate violet  to  clear  blue,  lay  outspread,  its  edge  prismatic,  like 
a  faint  rainbow. 

We  watched  it  for  three  hours,  during  which  it  gradually 
grew  shorter  and  more  sombre,  so  that  it  was  actually 
darker  than  the  forest-clad  hills  which  lay  in  shadow  before 
us,  and  across  which  it  fell.  As  the  sun  rose  higher  and 
higher,  the  blue  pyramid  gradually  grew  narrower  at  the 
base,  till  finally  it  vanished,  leaving  us  impressed  with  the 
conviction  that  to  this  phenomenon  must  in  some  mea- 
sure be  attributed  the  sanctity  with  which,  in  early  ages,  a 
people  always  keenly  addicted  to  nature-worship  invested 
this  mountain-top.  Their  modern  descendants  seemed  to 
have  no  room  for  it  in  their  full  hearts. 

I  may  mention  that  I  have  witnessed  this  identical  phe- 
nomenon at  sunrise  from  the  summit  of  Fuji-Yama,  the 
holy  mountain  of  Japan,  and  I  have  heard  it  said  that  a 
similar  effect  is  to  be  seen  from  Pike's  Peak  in  Colorado,  a 
mountain  14,157  feet  in  height,  but  not  remarkable  in  form. 
I  have,  however,  seen  a  picture  which  merely  shows  the 


•MO  ASCENT    OF    ADAMS    PEAK. 

sunset  sliadow  of  the  mountain  on  the  eastern  sky — not 
at  :ill  a  triangle.  From  the  summit  of  Mount  Omei,  the 
holy  mcnintain  of  the  Chinese  Buddhists,  a  very  peculiar 
shadow  is  sometimes  seen,  capped  by  a  marvellous  prismatic 
halo,  which  is  known  as  the  "  Glory  of  Buddha."  Occa- 
sionally, when  the  shadow  of  Adam's  Peak  falls  on  mist, 
the  spectral  shadow  seems  to  stand  upright,  taking  the 
conical  form  of  the  mountain,  and  a  rainbow-girt  halo  rests 
on  its  summit. 

One  traveller  only,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  has  had  the 
f'ood  fortune  to  see  this  wonderful  shadow  as  a  moonlight 
phenomenon,  which,  of  course,  could  only  occur  when  an 
almost  full  moon  was  very  near  the  horizon,  either  rising 
or  setting.  This  fortunate  observer  was  Lawrence  Oliphant, 
whose  description  of  the  scene  is  so  striking  that  again  I 
cannot  refrain  from  quoting  his  words. 

"  By  the  light  of  a  moon  a  little  past  the  full,  in  the 
early  morning,  I  looked  down  from  this  isolated  summit 
upon  a  sea  of  mist,  which  stretched  to  the  horizon  in  all 
directions,  completely  concealing  the  landscape  beneath  me. 
Its  white,  compact,  smooth  surface  almost  gave  it  the  ap- 
j)earance  of  a  field  of  snow,  across  ivhich,  in  a  deep  hlach 
shadovj,  extended  the  conical  form  of  the  moiintain  I  was  on, 
its  apex  just  touching  the  horizon,  and  producing  a  scenic 
effect  as  unique  as  it  was  imposing, 

"  While  I  was  watching  it,  the  sharpness  of  its  outline 
gradually  began  to  fade,  the  black  shadow  became  by  de- 
grees less  black,  the  white  mist  more  grey,  and  as  the 
dawn  slowly  broke,  the  whole  effect  was  changed  as  by  the 
wand  of  a  magician.  Another  conical  shadotv  crept  over  the 
vast  expanse  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  mountain,  which,  in 
its  turn,  reached  to  the  horizon,  as  the  sun  rose  over  the 


THE   SHADOW    SEEN    BY    MOONLIGHT.  341 

tremulous  mist ;  but  the  sun-shadow  seemed  to  lack  the 
cold  mystery  of  the  moon-shadow  it  had  driven  away,  and 
scarcely  gave  one  time  to  appreciate  its  own  marvellous 
effects  before  the  mist  itself  began  slowly  to  rise  and  to 
envelop  us  as  in  a  winding-sheet.  For  half  an  hour  or 
more  we  were  in  the  clouds  and  could  see  nothing;  then 
suddenly  they  rolled  away  and  revealed  the  magnificeut 
panorama  which  had  been  the  object  of  our  pilgrimage." 

Intently  as  we  watched  each  change  in  this  wondrous 
vision,  we  did  not  fail  to  note  the  proceedings  of  our  fellow- 
pilgrims,  who,  previous  to  paying  their  vows  at  the  holy 
shrine,  walk  thrice  sunwise  round  it,  following  the  well- 
worn  level  footpath,  and  carrying  their  simple  offerings  of 
flowers,  chiefly  the  scarlet  blossoms  of  the  rhododendron 
and  the  fragrant  white  champac  and  plumeria,  raised  on 
high  in  their  joined  hands.  Then  a  second  time  they  per- 
formed the  three  sunwise  turns,  this  time  bearing  on  one 
shoulder  a  bmss  lota  filled  with  clear  icy  water  from  a 
spring  which  lies  about  twelve  feet  below  the  summit,  and 
in  which  leaves  wafted  from  Paradise  are  sometimes  found 
floating, — so  the  pilgrims  believe.  A  second  spring  lies 
about  forty  feet  lower  down.^  (Two  silver  bells  were  the 
gift  of  certain  Moormen  to  the  honour  of  Adam,  as  were 
also  two  large  brass  lamps.)  The  pilgrims  then  kneel  in 
lowliest  adoration  whilst  the  priest  pours  out  their  offering 
of  water  upon  the  footprint,  on  which  they  also  lay  their 
gift  of  flowers,  and  a  few  small  coins  for  the  use  of  the 


1  It  always  seems  strange  to  find  water-springs  in  the  hard  rock  at  a  great 
altitude.  I  saw  two  similar  springs  on  the  extreme  summit  of  Fuji-Yama  in 
Japan,  which  is  simply  a  dormant  crater,  and  others  on  the  summit  and 
in  the  crater  of  Haloakala  in  the  Sandwich  Isles.  See  "  Fire  Fountains  of 
Hawaii,"  vol.  i.  p.  2G4.     Published  by  Blackwood. 


342  ASCENT    OF   ADAMS    PEAK. 

priests.  Tli(>n  dippiric,'  their  hands  in  the  water  thus  sanc- 
tified, they  wash  their  faces  in  symbolic  purification. 

Afterwards  it  is  customary  for  each  pilgrim  to  tear  a 
fragment  from  his  scanty  raiment  and  knot  it  to  one  of  the 
iron  cliains,  to  remind  Heaven  of  the  petitions  offered  on 
tliis  sacred  spot.  These  rags,  old  and  new,  form  a  fringe 
of  many  colours,  enlivening  the  rusty  chains  which  secure 
the  temple  to  the  crag.  Some  of  the  links  in  these  ancient 
and  modern  chains  are  inscribed  with  the  name  of  the 
donor,  who  has  tlius  presented  a  more  enduring  memorial 
tlian  tlie  rag  of  his  poor  brother.  Strange,  is  it  not,  how 
this  identical  custom  of  rag-offering  prevails  in  all  regions 
of  the  earth,  from  Ireland's  holy  wells  to  Himalayan  moun- 
tains and  sacred  bushes ! 

Some  of  the  pilgrims  had  brought  with  them  long  strips 
of  white  calico,  wherewith  the  little  priestling  covered  the 
mystic  rock,  and  on  each  of  which  he  traced  with  saffron 
(sacred  yellow)  an  exceedingly  well-defined  footprint.  These 
were  hung  up  to  the  eaves  of  the  temple,  and  thence 
fluttered  flag-like  till  thoroughly  dried,  when  the  devout 
pilgrims  would  carry  them  to  distant  lands,  for  the  edifi- 
cation of  less  fortunate  believers.  These  are  deemed  a 
charm  against  the  evil-eye  and  sundry  diseases. 

Various  travellers  have  noted  a  graceful  detail  of  family 
life  at  the  conclusion  of  the  appointed  worship,  namely, 
that  husbands  and  wives,  children  and  parents,  salute  one  an- 
other most  reverently  and  affectionately  with  lowly  salaams  ; 
the  grey-haired  wife,  moved  to  tears,  almost  embracing  the 
feet  of  her  venerable  husband,  and  he  raising  her  lovingly 
— younger  men  simply  exchanging  salutations  and  betel 
leaves. 

Thus  year  after  year,  from  the  earliest  ages  of  human 


A    SERIES    OF   BCDDHAS.  343 

history,  have  pilgrim  bands  climbed  this  lofty  summit  to 
worship  on  the  pinnacle  which,  though  we  believe  it  to 
be  no  nearer  to  heaven  than  the  murkiest  street  of  our 
crowded  cities,  is  certainly  far  uplifted  above  the  levels  of 
earth. 

To  say  that  the  aboriginal  native  worshippers  of  the 
Isle  revered  this  rock-pinnacle  long  before  the  days  of 
Gautama  Luddha,  is  nothing ;  for  though  he  is  said  to  have 
appeared  here  more  than  five  hundred  years  before  Christ, 
he  was  only  the  most  recent  of  a  series  of  Buddhas — holy 
beings  who  are  supposed  to  have  honoured  this  earth  with 
their  presence  in  divers  ages.  I  believe  the  Singhalese 
legends  tell  of  twenty-five  Buddhas  who  have  visited  Ceylon, 
of  whom  four  are  said  to  have  revealed  themselves  on  this 
spot. 

The  first  of  these  was  Kukusanda,  who  appeared  about 
B.C.  3000,  and  found  the  Peak  already  known  as  Deiwakuta, 
"  Peak  of  the  God." 

The  second  Buddha  who  here  revealed  himself  was 
Konagamma ;  he  appeared  B.C.  2099,  and  even  at  that  early 
date  the  mount  (so  they  say)  was  already  known  as  Saman- 
takuta,  in  honour  of  Saman,  who  three  hundred  years  pre- 
viously had,  as  I  have  already  observed,  accompanied  Piama 
when  he  conquered  Ceylon. 

The  third  Buddha,  known  as  Kasyapa,  appeared  about 
B.C.  1000,  and  then,  B.C.  577,  came  Gautama  Buddha,  the 
prince  of  Lucknow. 

Since  then,  successive  kings  and  nobles  have  come  here 
from  far  distant  lands  on  solemn  pilgrimage,  and  many 
a  picturesque  company  (some  robed  in  all  the  gorgeous- 
ness  of  Oriental  splendour)  has  wended  its  way  from  the 
coast  through  the  dense  beast-haunted  forests  which  clothed 


344  ASCENT  OF  Adam's  peak. 

these  wild  mountain  riuit,'es,  to  toil  up  these  self-same 
rock-licwii  stops  since,  in  the  year  a.d.  24,  Meghavahana, 
king  of  Cashmere,  came  all  the  way  hitlier  to  worship  on 
this  summit. 

That  the  kings  of  Ceylon  should  be  numbered  amongst 
the  pilgrims  is  only  natural,  though  doubtless  it  was  a 
notable  event  that  they  should  make  the  journey  on  foot, 
as  did  the  great  Buddhist  king,  Prakrama  Bahu  I.,  who, 
about  a.d.  1153,  "caused  a  temple  to  be  erected  on  the 
summit  of  Samanala  "  (so  it  is  stated  in  the  Eajavali). 

Thus  through  each  successive  age  has  the  ceaseless  offer- 
ing of  prayer  and  praise  ascended  from  this  majestic  moun- 
tain-altar to  the  great  All-Father,  whose  tender  mercy  enfolds 
all  His  children,  albeit  so  many  can  but  feel  after  Him 
tlirough  the  blinding  mists  of  heathenism.  But  we,  who 
KNOW  His  all-enfolding  love,  and  grieve  to  see  these  weary 
ones  pleading  with  "  unknown  gods,"  can  but  echo  the  hope 
of  him  who  wrote  : — 

"  What  if  to  Thee  in  Thine  Infinity 
These  multiform  and  many-coloured  creeds 
Seem  but  the  robe  man  wraps  as  masquer's  weeds 
Round  the  one  living  truth  Thou  givest  him — Thee  ? 
"Wluit  if  these  varied  forms  that  worship  prove 
(Being  heart-worship)  reach  Thy  perfect  ear 
But  as  a  monotone,  complete  and  clear, 
Of  which  the  music  is  (through  Christ's  Name)  Love  ? 
For  ever  rising  in  sublime  increase 
To  '  Glory  in  the  Highest— on  Earth  peace.' " 


345 


CHAPTER  XXVL 

THE  TUG  OF  WAR — THE  BATTLE  OF  DIVERSE  CREEDS 
IN  CEYLON. 

Nestorian  Christians— St.  Francis  Xavier — Portuguese —Dutch — Tal)]e 
of  British  Missionaries — Kunian  Catholic— American  Mission — Need 
of  a  Medical  Mission  for  Women — Jaffna  College — High-caste 
students — Commencement  of  Wesleyan  Mission — Its  Mission  to 
Burmah. 

I  DOUBT  whether  in  auy  other  corner  of  the  earth  so  small 
an  area  has  proved  the  battle-field  for  creeds  so  diverse  as 
those  which  have  successively  striven  for  the  mastery  in 
Ceylon.  Certainly  there  is  none  in  which  successive  mer- 
cenary invaders,  whether  heathen  or  Christian,  have  more 
unscrupulously  used  the  cloak  of  religion  as  a  political 
engine  for  the  furtherance  of  their  own  designs,  or  with 
more  lamentable  results. 

This  fair  Isle,  somewhat  smaller  than  Irelam],  lias  for 
centuries  been  distracted  by  religious  and  political  conflicts, 
subject  to  the  caprice  of  successive  rulers  of  diverse  race 
and  faith,  each  imposing  its  own  secular  and  spiritual  govern- 
ment on  the  conquered  islanders,  and  all  alike  unstable. 
From  the  days  when  pure,  cold,  atheistic  linddhism  first 
sought  (quite  ineffectually)  to  drive  out  the  devil-worship 
which  prevails  to  this  day,  and  through  Hindoo  and  Malay 


3'16  THE    TUO    OF   WAR. 

invasions,  bringing  alternate  waves  of  polytheism  and  mono- 
theism, till  Portuguese  and  Dutch  conquerors  came,  each  in 
turn  determined  to  enforce  their  own  creed,  the  people  have 
been  subject  to  such  conilicting  teaching,  that  to  a  very 
great  extent  all  these  faiths  have  partly  blended  and  partly 
neutralised  one  another. 

At  the  present  day,  although,  out  of  a  population  of  some- 
what over  3,000,000,  1,800,000  are  professedly  Buddhists, 
030,000  are  Hindoos,  220,000  are  Mahommedans,  and,  accord- 
ing to  the  latest  census,  283,000  are  Christians,  the  great  mass 
of  these  people  are  still  in  the  thraldom  of  the  aboriginal 
devil-worship,  which  is  a  system  of  ceaseless  propitiation  of 
malignant  spirits. 

As  regards  the  effect  on  the  Christianity  of  the  Isle,  it  is 
evident  that  creeds  enforced  by  conquerors  could  not  fail  to 
be  odious  in  the  eyes  of  the  people.  As  to  winning  their 
hearts,  that  was  never  attempted  until  the  present  century, 
unless,  perhaps,  in  very  early  days  when  Christianity  was 
introduced  from  Persia  by  Nestorian  missionaries.  Of  this 
mention  is  made  by  Cosmas,  a  Nestorian  Christian,  who, 
writing  in  the  time  of  Justinian,  tells  that  in  Taprobane 
(which  was  the  ancient  Greek  name  for  Ceylon)  there  ex- 
isted a  community  of  Persian  Christians,  tended  by  bishops, 
priests,  and  deacons,  and  having  a  regular  liturgy. 

These  are  understood  to  have  been  merchants  attracted 
by  commerce  to  this  Isle  of  gems,  ivory,  and  precious  timber, 
which  was  then  the  great  emporium  of  Oriental  trade.  They 
are  supposed  to  have  established  their  head-quarters  on  the 
shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Manaar,  but  by  the  close  of  the  sixth 
century  Eastern  trade  seems  to  have  languished,  the  Persian 
merchants  no  longer  frequented  the  Isle,  and  no  more  is 
heard  of  these  Persian  colonists.      Their  influence,  however, 


ST.    FRANCIS    XAVIER.  317 

remained,  for  when  Sir  John  Mandeville  visited  the  Xorth- 
West  Province  in  the  fourteenth  century,  he  states  that  he 
there  found  "good  men  and  reasonable,  and  many  Christian 
men  amongst  them." 

Some  lingering  trace  of  their  teaching  doubtless  predis- 
posed the  Tamil  natives  of  that  district  to  the  Christian 
faith,  for  when  ^  St.  Francis  Xavier  (like  his  Master 
preaching  to  the  fishers  on  tlie  Lake  of  Galilee)  made  his 
earliest  proselytes  among  the  fisher-folk  of  Cape  Comorin, 
those  of  Manaar  sent  him  an  invitation  to  come  and  teach 
them  also.  Though  unable  to  come  in  person,  he  sent  one 
of  his  clergy,  through  whom  about  seven  hundred  received 
baptism — a  baptism  which  was  straightway  crowned  by 
martyrdom,  as  these  early  converts  were  forthwith  put  to 
death  by  the  llajah  of  Jaffna,  who  was  a  worshipper  of 
Siva.  This  martyrdom  was  followed  by  the  usual  results, 
for  ere  long  the  sons  and  other  relations  of  the  persecuting 
ruler  embraced  the  Christian  faith  and  fied  for  protection  to 
the  mainland,  to  the  court  of  the  Christian  Viceroy  of  Goa, 

Soon  afterward  the  Rajah  himself,  terrified  by  the  en- 
croachments of  the  Portuguese,  declared  himself  a  convert, 
and  induced  St.  Francis  to  secure  for  him  a  political  alliance 
with  these  irresistible  invaders,  who  accordingly  established 
a  sort  of  protectorate  in  his  realm,  which  soon  resulted  in 
the  assertion  of  absolute  power  and  the  expulsion  of  the 
tyrant  from  his  dominions. 

To  this  day  the  majority  of  the  Singhalese  and  Tamil 
fishers  are  members  of  the  Ptomau  Catholic  Church,  and 
members,  moreover,  who  pay  their  tithes  in  so  liberal  a 
fashion,  that  when,  in  1840,  the  British  Government  abolished 
the  tax  on  fish,  which  had  previously  been  an  item  of  revenue 

1  A.D.  ir.44. 


318  THE   TUG    OF   WAR. 

e(iuivalont  to  about  £G000  per  annum,  the  fishers  simply 
transferred  tlieir  payment  to  the  priests,  by  whom  it  has 
thenceforth  been  collected.  The  I'ortuguese  seem  to  have 
discovered  the  Island  by  accident,  while  pursuing  trading 
vessels.  They  found  Moorish  ships  laden  with  cinnamon 
and  elephants,  and  straightway  their  covetousness  was 
awakened.  They  found  a  people  weakened  by  dissensions, 
amongst  whom  they  came  in  threefold  character,  as  mer- 
chants, missionaries,  and  pirates.  They  craved  an  inch, 
they  quickly  took  an  ell,  and  in  truth  a  knell  they  sounded 
throughout  the  weary  land. 

So  soon  as  they  obtained  possession  of  Colombo  and  the 
adjoining  districts  (a.d.  1505),  Don  Juan  de  Monterio  was 
consecrated  first  Eoman  Catholic  Bishop  of  Ceylon,  and 
every  effort  was  made  to  induce  the  Singhalese  to  declare 
themselves  converts.  So  great  was  the  official  pressure,  en- 
forced by  the  indescribably  brutal  cruelty  of  fanatical  soldiers, 
that  multitudes  yielded  and  submitted  to  baptism.  Amongst 
these  nominal  converts  were  the  kings  of  Kandy  and  of 
Cotta,  but  this  was  not  till  the  former  had  been  driven  from 
his  throne,  and  the  latter  compelled  to  seek  the  aid  of  the 
Portuguese  to  retain  his  kingdom.  The  example  of  their 
kings  was  followed  by  many  of  the  nobles,  who  carried 
compliance  so  far  as  to  adopt  the  names  of  the  Portuguese 
nobles  who  stood  sponsors  at  the  holy  font — a  circumstance 
of  which  we  find  a  curious  survival  at  the  present  day  in 
the  Portuguese  Christian  names  combined  with  native  sur- 
names borne  by  so  many  of  the  people  of  pure  blood,  such 
as  Gregory  de  Soyza  Wijeyegooneratne  Siriwardene,  Don 
David  dc  Silva  Welaratne  Jayetilleke,  Johan  Louis  Fcrera 
Abeysekere  Goonewardene,  &c. 

Although  the  influence  of  Portuguese  gold,  the  hope  of 


DUTCH    METHODS.  319 

official  honours,  and  the  dread  of  Larharous  torture  com- 
bined to  produce  a  general  outward  conformity,  it  stands 
to  reason  that  the  majority  of  the  people  continued  secretly 
attached  to  the  Buddhist  and  Brahman  faiths  ;  and  so  great 
were  the  concessions  made  by  the  Eomau  Catholic  teachers 
in  the  way  of  assimilation  as  to  call  forth  serious  remon- 
strance from  some  of  the  stricter  Orders. 

Thus  matters  continued  till,  in  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  the  Dutch  obtained  the  upper  hand  in 
the  struggle  for  supremacy,  and  in  a.d.  161-2  they  proclaimed 
the  Eeformed  Church  of  Holland  to  be  the  established  reli- 
gion of  the  Isle.  Then  fullowed  a  period  of  most  cruel  per- 
secution. Many  of  the  Portuguese  priests  were  deported  to 
India,  one  was  beheaded,  all  were  insulted  and  oppressed, 
as  were  also  the  native  Eoman  Catholics,  many  of  whom, 
however,  had  now  become  so  thoroughly  in  earnest  that  no 
amount  of  persecution  could  make  them  abjure  their  faitli. 
These  were  Singhalese,  Tamils,  and  descendants  of  the  Por- 
tuguese. 

By  way  of  exhibiting  their  superiority  to  childish  reve- 
rence for  images,  the  Dutch  indulged  in  such  unworthy 
diversions  as  mutilating  the  sacred  figures  in  the  churches, 
especially  that  of  St.  Thomas,  the  patron  saint  of  the  Isle, 
into  which  they  knocked  great  nails,  and  then  shot  it  from 
a  mortar  right  into  the  Portuguese  quarters.  Tlius  Chris- 
tianity was  presented  to  the  islanders  solely  as  the  ground 
for  bitter  contentions  between  these  two  bodies  of  those 
professing  it.  The  Portuguese  persuasives  having  been  the 
sword,  the  stake,  and  the  spear,  tlie  Dutch  tried  bribery, 
Government  office,  and  emolument  of  various  kinds. 

In  curious  contrast  with  their  contemptible  sacrifice  of 
Christianity  to  trade  in  Japan,  the  Dutch  here  set  to  work 


350  THE   TUG    OF    WAR. 

with  a  hii^h  liand  to  establish  the  Reformed  Faith.  Issuing 
stringent  penal  proclamations  against  the  celebration  of  mass 
and  every  other  office  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  they 
took  possession  of  the  churches,  established  Reformed  schools, 
and  by  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  they  reckoned 
their  nominal  adherents  among  the  Tamil  population  in  the 
north  of  the  Isle  at  about  190,000.  Nevertheless,  Baldceus, 
one  of  the  earliest  Dutch  missionaries,  who  in  16G3  records 
this  triumph,  has  to  confess  that,  though  Christian  in  name, 
they  retained  many  of  the  superstitions  of  their  Hindoo 
Paganism. 

But  the  Singhalese  of  the  Southern  District  were  by  no 
means  so  ready  to  adopt  another  new  creed  at  the  bidding 
of  strangers ;  so  to  quicken  their  intelligence,  proclamations 
were  issued  to  the  efifect  that  no  native  who  had  not  been 
admitted  by  baptism  into  the  Protestant  Church  could  hold 
any  office  under  Government,  or  even  be  allowed  to  farm 
land.  Of  course,  upon  this  there  was  no  limit  to  the  num- 
bers who  pressed  forward  to  submit  to  the  test  thus  sacri- 
legiously imposed,  Brahmans  claiming  their  right  to  do  so 
without  even  laying  aside  the  outward  symbols  of  their 
heathen  worship. 

And  no  wonder  that  they  assumed  the  test  to  be  merely 
an  external  form,  when  in  a.d.  1707  they  saw  the  Dutch 
actually  securing  peace  with  the  Kandyan  king  by  a  loan 
of  ships  to  convey  messengers  to  Arracan,  thence  to  bring 
Buddhist  priests  of  sufficiently  high  ecclesiastical  rank  to 
restore  the  Upasampada  order  in  Ceylon  and  reinstate 
Buddhism,  which  had  fallen  into  decay  during  the  long- 
continued  wars. 

The  Dutch,  however,  had  every  intention  of  really  edu- 
cating the  people  to  an  understanding  of  Christian  doctrine. 


FATHER   JOSEPH    VAZ.  351 

SO  free  schools  were  established  everywhere  throughout  the 
maritime  provinces  over  which  they  held  sway,  and  attend- 
ance was  made  compulsory  and  enforced  by  a  system  of 
fines.  The  natives  made  no  objection  to  sending  their  boys, 
but  that  girls  should  be  compelled  to  attend  in  public  was 
then  deemed  scandalous. 

Even  under  the  pressure  of  the  new  edict,  the  southern 
Buddhist  districts  never  yielded  half  so  many  nominal  con- 
verts as  did  the  Hindoo  population  in  the  north.  There  was 
nothing  in  the  prosaic  forms  of  Dutch  Presbyterianism  which 
appealed  to  their  imagination.  But  the  Church  of  Bome 
received  a  fresh  impetus  from  the  fervent  preaching  of 
father  Joseph  Vaz,  of  the  Oratory  of  St.  Philip  Neri  at  Goa, 
who  (protected  by  the  reinstated  Christian  king  of  Kandy, 
who  backed  his  advocacy  by  the  persecution  and  imprison- 
ment of  non-compliant  subjects)  gained  30,000  converts 
from  the  ranks  of  those  who  had  hitherto  continued  staunch 
Buddhists. 

The  Roman  Catholics  had  now  resumed  worship  in  four 
hundred  churches  throughout  the  Isle,  and  the  Dutch  deemed 
it  necessary  to  reassert  themselves  by  issuing  fresh  penal 
laws,  resulting  in  bitter  contentions  between  these  two 
bodies  of  the  Christian  Church,  while  all  the  time  hea- 
thenism continued  rampant,  the  Dutch  themselves  declar- 
ing that  multitudes  of  their  nominal  adherents  were  incor- 
rigible Buddhists,  who  regulated  every  act  of  life  by  the 
teaching  of  astrologers,  always  calling  in  the  aid  of  devil- 
dancers,  rather  than  that  of  the  clergy,  wearing  heathen 
charms,  and  making  ofierings  in  the  idol-temples. 

But  the  penal  laws  which  subjected  Roman  Catholics  to 
all  possible  civil  disabilities,  and  even  refused  to  recognise 
marriage  by  a  priest  as  valid,  continued  in  force  till  1806, 


352  TlIK    TUG    OF    WAR. 

Nvhcii  they  were  repealed  by  the  British  Government,  and 
religious  liberty  established.  At  the  present  day  scarcely 
a  trace  remains  of  the  inlluence  of  Dutch  I'resbyterianism, 
whereas  the  numerous  descendants  of  the  Portuguese  con- 
verts continue  to  be  devout  members  of  the  Koman  Catholic 
Church  (combined,  however,  with  much  of  the  grossest 
superstition  of  their  heathen  neighbours).  A  very  debased 
form  of  the  Portuguese  language  is  also  extensively  spoken, 
and,  in  fact,  was  till  recently  in  common  use  amongst  all 
the  mixed  races,  whereas  the  Dutch  language  has  entirely 
died  out. 

That  the  Dutch  Church,  so  forcibly  established,  should 
have  failed  to  obtain  any  real  footing  in  the  hearts  of  the 
nominal  converts  is  no  wonder,  inasmuch  as  their  clergy 
would  not  even  take  the  trouble  to  master  the  language  of 
the  people,  but  taught  through  interpreters.  In  1747  there 
remained  in  all  the  Isle  only  five  ministers  of  the  Reformed 
Church,  and  only  one  of  these  could  even  understand  the 
language. 

After  this,  however,  they  were  ably  assisted  by  Schwartz 
and  other  members  of  the  Danish  Mission  at  Tranquebar, 
who  undertook  to  train  young  men  for  the  ministry  in 
Ceylon.  But  a  Church  which  was  so  entirely  built  up  on 
a  basis  of  political  bribery  and  coercion  could  not  stand 
when  these  incentives  were  removed,  and  so  this  outwardly 
imposing  Dutch  Church  has  faded  away  like  a  dream. 

For  some  time,  however,  after  the  British  annexation  of 
Ceylon,  Dutch  Presbyterianism  was  recognised  as  the  Estab- 
lished Church  of  the  colony,  and  Mr.  North  (the  first  British 
Governor,  afterwards  Lord  Guildford)  not  only  took  active 
measures  for  restoring  170  of  the  Dutch  village-schools  all 
over  the  Island,  but  also  offered  Government  assistance  to 


"  GOVERNMENT    RELIGION."  353 

the  clergy  if  they  would  itinerate  through  the  rural  districts, 
and  so  keep  alive  some  knowledge  of  the  Christian  faith. 

How  little  tlie  Home  Government  cared  about  the  matter 
was  proved  by  the  refusal  to  sanction  the  sum  expended  by 
Mr.  Xorth  on  the  schools,  which  accordingly  had  to  be  con- 
siderably reduced — a  parsimony  wliich  was  deemed  grievously 
out  of  keeping  with  the  high  salaries  granted  in  other  de- 
partments. 

Meanwhile,  however,  seeing  the  interest  thus  taken  in 
the  matter  by  their  new  rulers,  and  expecting  that  religious 
profession  and  political  reward  would  continue  to  go  hand 
in  hand,  the  number  of  the  nominal  converts,  both  Eoman 
Catholic  and  Presbyterian,  increased  rapidly,  but  only  to 
be  followed  by  wholesale  apostasy  so  soon  as  they  realised 
that  their  creed  was  a  matter  of  absolute  indifference  to 
their  official  superiors.  Thus,  whereas  in  a.d.  1801  no 
less  than  342,000  Singhalese  professed  the  Protestant 
faith,  ten  years  later  that  number  was  diminished  by 
one-half,  the  rest  having  returned  to  the  worship  of 
Buddha ! 

Likewise  in  the  northern  districts,  where  in  a.d.  1802 
upwards  of  136,000  of  the  Tamil  population  were  nominal 
Presbyterians,  the  cloak  of  "  Government  religion "  was 
thrown  off  so  rapidly,  that,  four  years  later,  the  fme  old 
churches  were  described  by  Buchanan  as  having  been 
abandoned,  and  left  to  go  to  ruin,  the  Protestant  religion 
being  extinct,  and  the  congregations  having  all  returned 
either  to  the  Church  of  Kome  or  to  the  worship  of  the 
Hindoo  gods.  The  clergy  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  had 
left  a  district  where  they  were  as  shepherds  without  sheep. 
Only  one  Tamil  catechist  remained  in  charge  of  the  whole 
province  of  Jaffna,  while  priests  from  the  Eoman  Catholic 

VOL.  II.  2 


351  TlIK   TU(;    OF    WAR. 

college  at  Goa  divided  the  field  with  the  reinstated  Brah- 
mans. 

So  feebly  rooted  was  this  Dutch  Christianity,  that  there 
was  reason  to  fear  that  those  who  continued  to  profess  the 
"  Cilovernment  religion"  were  really  those  who  cared  least 
about  any  faitli ;  and  though  they  and  their  descendants 
have  ever  been  willing  to  bring  their  children  to  holy  bap- 
tism, the  very  term  whicli  describes  that  sacrament,  "Kulaiva- 
denaiva,"  "  admission  to  rank,"  recalls  the  notion  of  secular 
advantage  which  it  conveys  to  their  minds. 

Of  course,  a  country  in  which  religion   had  been  thus 

misused  presented  the  most  disheartening  of  mission-fields. 

Nevertheless,  in  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  the 

London  Mission,  the  Wesleyans,  and  the  Baptists  each  sent 

representatives  to  try  what  could  be  done ;  but  their  early 

efforts  seemed  to  themselves  altogether  without  fruit.     The 

Church  of  England  likewise  sent  chaplains  to  minister  to 

the  British  settlers.^     About  the  same  time  the  American 

Board  of  Foreign  Missions  sent  its  emissaries  to  commence 

work  at  Madras.      On  their  way  thither  their  vessel  was 

wrecked  off  the  north-west  of  Ceylon.     This  they  accepted 

as  an  indication  of  the  Divine  will  that  they  were  to  go 

1  I  may  liere  ([uote  ilr.  Ferguson's  Chronological  Table  of  Missions  in 
Ceylon  : — 

A.]).  1505.  Portuguese  visit  Ceylon. 

—  1544.  Roman  Catholicism  first  preached  at  Manaar. 

—  1642.   Dutch  Presbyterian  Ministry  commenced. 

—  1740.  Arrival  of  Moravian  Missionaries. 

—  1804.  Arrival  of  London  Missionaries. 

—  1812.  Baptist  Mission  commenced. 

—  1814.  ^\'esleyan  Mission  commenced. 

—  1816.  American  Mission  commenced. 

—  1818.  Arrival  of  Church  Missionaries  (C.M.S.). 

—  1840.  Arrival  of  Church  Missionaries  (S.P.G.). 

—  1854.  Tamil  Coolie  Jlission  commenced. 


ENGLISH    AND    AMERICAN    MISSIONS.  355 

no  farther.  They  accordingly  established  themselves  at 
Jaffna,  which  was  then  a  very  different  place  from  the 
civilised  town  and  province  of  the  present  day,  with  gardens 
and  lawn-tennis  grounds,  its  network  of  first-class  roads 
and  travelling  facilities.  At  that  time  there  were  no  roads, 
only  footpaths  over  heavy  sand,  which  in  the  rainy  season 
became  impassable.  The  salt  lagoon  was  not  bridged,  and 
the  only  means  of  travel  was  by  canoe  and  palanquin. 
Bullock-carts  were  unknown  luxuries,  and  where  vast  cocoa 
and  palmyra  palm  plantations  now  flourish,  all  was  gloomy 
jungle,  haunted  by  innumerable  leopards,  black  bears,  and 
other  dangerous  foes.  ]'acks  of  jackals  infested  the  suburbs, 
making  night  hideous  with  their  cries,  troops  of  monkeys 
and  large  grey  wanderoos  boldly  stripped  the  gardens,  while 
gangs  of  robbers  kept  all  honest  folk  in  terror. 

At  this  very  uninviting  spot  the  shipwrecked  Americans 
took  up  their  quarters  near  the  old  Dutch  fort,  and  devoted 
all  their  energies  to  the  evangelising  of  the  Tamil  popula- 
tion— an  effort  which  has  been  carried  on  without  ceasinji 
up  to  the  present  time  with  very  marked  success. 

These  pioneers  were  closely  followed  by  the  English 
Church  Missionary  Society,  whose  first  messengers  com- 
menced work  at  Nellore,  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood 
of  Jaffna,  and  tliere  studied,  taught,  and  preached  for  twelve 
weary  years  ere  their  patience  was  rewarded  by  making  a 
single  convert.  Ere  that  year  closed,  however,  a  little  band 
of  ten  had  renounced  idolatry,  and  formed  tlie  nucleus  of 
the  future  Church,  which,  from  that  small  beginning,  has 
very  slowly  but  steadily  developed,  and  has  now  just  attained 
that  stage  of  vitality  when  a  Church  begins  to  recognise  its 
own  responsibility  towards  its  heathen  neighbours — a  con- 
viction which  inevitably  results  in  self-extension. 


35G  TlIK    TIC    OF    WAR. 

Of  course  mission-work  was  now  commenced  on  an 
entirely  new  footing.  So  far  from  aiming  at  wholesale  con- 
versions, all  inquirers  were  henceforth  individually  sub- 
jected to  most  searching  probation,  and  a  rigid  standard  of 
character  has  been  maintained,  with  the  result  that  though 
the  recognised  adherents  of  each  Mission  are  comparatively 
few,  they  are  of  true  stuff,  and  many  are  of  the  kind  which 
seeks  to  win  others. 

Thus  the  position  of  Ceylon  in  regard  to  Christian  missions 
is  that  of  a  canvas  on  which  successive  artists  have  tried 
their  skill,  each  striving  to  obliterate  the  work  of  his  pre- 
decessors, resulting  in  an  undertone  of  heavy  neutral  tint ; 
whereon  at  the  present  moment  many  draughtsmen  are 
simultaneously  endeavouring  to  work  out  a  Christian  design, 
although  sorely  at  variance  concerning  the  detail  and  colour 
of  its  several  parts. 

The  various  Protestant  sects  do  indeed  seek  to  work  in 
harmony,  though  of  course  their  differences  must  sorely 
perplex  the  heathen  who  is  half  inclined  to  forsake  his 
ancestral  faith.  But  reckoning  all  together,  Episcopalians, 
Wesleyans,  Presbyterians,  Congregationalists,  and  Baptists, 
these,  even  according  to  the  census,  only  constitute  a  total  of 
about  70,000,  and  of  these  only  about  35,000  are  recognised 
adherents  of  any  Protestant  mission.  Here,  as  in  India, 
many  who  would  be  no  credit  to  any  creed  can  assume  the 
name  for  their  own  ends.  The  Eoman  Catholics,  who  are 
content  to  acknowledge  very  nominal  conversions,  reckon 
their  co-religiouists  at  upwards  of  212,000,  but  a  very  large 
number  of  these  are  Christians  solely  in  name,  descendants 
of  converts  of  bygone  generations,  and  absolutely  ignorant 
of  even  the  distinctive  outlines  of  Christian  faith. 

Of  these  two  great  branches  of  the  Church  Catholic,  it 


ROMAN    CATHOLIC    MISSIONS.  357 

can  certainly  not  be  said  that  they  are  working  in  union 
in  their  Master's  cause,  but  never  does  their  estrangement 
appear  so  grievous  as  when  thus  displayed  in  presence  of 
an  overwhelming  majority  of  the  heathen,  whom  each  seek 
to  lead  to  the  same  Saviour — at  least  we  would  fain  believe 
that  sucli  is  the  object  of  the  whole  Catholic  Church,  though 
practically  even  the  largest  charity  must  admit  tliat  a  vast 
numljer  of  the  lioman  Catholic  converts  merely  exchange 
one  idolatry  for  another.  I  have  already  mentioned  having 
myself  seen  in  one  small  chapel  the  image  of  Buddlia  on 
one  side  and  that  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  on  the  other,  receiving 
divided  worship ;  and  as  to  the  processions  in  tlie  Tamil 
districts,  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  distinguish  those  of  so- 
called  Christian  images  from  those  of  the  Hindoo  gods  (which 
are  worshipped  alike  by  Buddhists  and  Tamils),  to  say 
notliing  of  the  fact  that  each  are  escorted  by  companies  of 
riotous  devil-dancers  and  truly  diabolical  musicians,  both 
hired  from  heathen  temples. 

But  even  a  most  orthodox  Iloman  Catholic  festival  is 
startling  when  considered  as  a  legitimate  feature  in  the 
worship  of  One  who  has  revealed  Himself  as  "  a  jealous 
(JoD,"  saying,  "My  glory  will  I  not  give  to  another,  neither 
]\Iy  praise  to  graven  images."  Here,  for  instance,  is  an  ac- 
count of  the  Midsummer  Pilgrimage  of  Our  Lady  of  ]\Iaddu 
as  described  by  the  '  Jaffna  Catholic  Guardian  '  in  1 88  !• : — 

"The  annual  festival  of  this  celebrated  fiaiictuary  was  .solemnised 
with  the  customary  pomp,  fervour,  and  devotion.  As  the  fame  of  this 
holy  i^pot  spreads,  so  does  the  numl)er  of  pil<,'rim8  increase  from  year  to 
year.  Tiiis  year  the  number  assembled  cm  the  festival  tlay  wa.s  calcu- 
lated to  be  between  fifteen  and  twenty  tliuusand.  Yet  tlie  ordt-r  and 
quiet  that  rei;,'ned  throu;;hout  llie  time  the  festival  lasted  Wiu?  simply 
admirable.  The  cheerfulness  and  resi<,'Matioii  of  the  iieo]iU!  amidst  the 
discomforts  and  privations  of  a  junt^le  life,  far  away  frnm  any  human 


858  THE    TUG    OF    WAR. 

habilation,  and  especially  in  a  place  where  water  is  scarce,  was  a  source  of 
ctlilication  to  every  one.  Nothing  could  be  more  touching  than  to  see 
the  pious  fervour  with  whicli  the  pilgrims,  both  Catholics  and  Hindoos, 
Buddhists  and  Moors,  from  early  dawn  till  late  in  the  night,  flocked 
around  the  altar  of  our  Holy  Mother  to  thank  her  for  favours  received, 
and  to  xiipplirate  her  for  the  grace  they  stood  in  need  of.  The  tem- 
porary church  could  not  contain  the  crowds  that  gathered  at  the  morn- 
ing and  evening  services." 

The  mixed  multitude  of  pilgrims  here  represented  as 
worshippers  at  the  shrine  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  is  certainly- 
remarkable. 

Perhaps  we  need  scarcely  wonder  that  the  Protestant 
catechists,  who  insist  on  a  radical  change  of  creed,  some- 
times meet  with  more  serious  opposition  from  the  Pioman 
Catholic  priests  than  from  the  heathen.  For  instance,  a 
catechist  was  recently  selling  books  and  tracts  from  village 
to  village  in  the  Negombo  district.  The  purchasers  in- 
cluded sundry  Roman  Catholics,  who  in  that  neighbourhood 
are  numerous.  One  of  these  invited  the  catechist  to  bring 
his  books  to  the  verandah  of  his  house,  and  sent  a  private 
intimation  to  the  priest,  who  in  the  course  of  a  few  minutes 
arrived,  angrily  denouncing  the  sale  of  such  pernicious  lite- 
rature. The  catechist  vainly  pointed  out  that  the  books 
he  was  selling  were  all  the  simplest  teaching  about  Jesus 
addressed  to  Buddhists,  but  the  irate  priest  refused  to  hear 
him,  and  informing  him  that  he  had  already  collected  and 
burnt  more  than  a  hundred  of  the  books  sold  in  other 
villages,  he  confiscated  the  whole  remaining  stock.  Pieckon- 
ing  the  prices  marked  on  those  for  sale,  he  paid  down  the 
money,  but  appropriated  all  that  were  for  gratuitous  circula- 
tion, and,  notwithstanding  the  protestations  of  their  owner, 
he  carried  off  the  whole  lot  to  burn  them.  During  this 
scene  a  crowd  of  Romanists  gathered  round,  and  were  worked 


'•'  THE    BACKBONE    OF    THE    NATION."  359 

up  to  such  excitement,  that  the  catechist  was  thankful  to 
escape  from  tlie  village  without  personal  injury. 

Of  the  three  races  whom  both  Catholics  and  Protestants 
seek  to  influence,  i.e.,  the  Singhalese,  Tamils,  and  IMoormen, 
the  most  satisfactory  mission  results  have  been  obtained 
amongst  the  Tamils  of  the  Northern  Province,  Jaffna,  as  I 
have  already  stated,  having  long  been  the  headquarters  of 
the  American  Congregational  Mission,  as  also  of  a  Church 
of  England  and  a  Wesleyan  brand),  all  happily  proving 
their  love  to  one  Master  by  working  in  sympathy  shoulder 
to  shoulder,  as  beseems  loyal  soldiers  of  the  Grand  Army, 
who  are  too  deeply  engrossed  in  a  real  war  with  dark 
idolatry  to  contend  over  small  differences  of  regimental 
uniform. 

Each  of  these  missions  has  its  own  schools  and  chapels, 
scattered  over  the  many  villages  of  the  surrounding  districts. 
The  most  notable  feature  in  all  three  is  the  recent  recogni- 
tion of  the  tremendously  antagonistic  power  of  the  heathen 
wives  and  mothers,  "  the  backbone  of  the  nation,"  whom  it 
is  always  so  difficult  to  reach  on  account  of  Oriental  customs 
of  feminine  seclusion ;  not  that  these  are  by  any  means  so 
stringent  in  Ceylon  as  on  the  mainland.  So  a  great  effort 
is  now  being  made  by  each  of  these  missions  to  establish 
schools,  and  especially  boarding-schools  for  girls,  and  in 
every  possible  way  to  win  the  women. 

This  elfort  was  indeed  commenced  at  the  very  beginning 
of  the  American  Mission,  when  it  was  found  that  Tamil 
parents  were  willing  to  send  their  boys  to  school,  but  declared 
that  it  was  absurd  to  send  girls,  as  they  could  no  more  learn 
than  sheep !  One  day,  however,  a  heavy  tropical  rainstorm 
came  on  so  suddenly  that  two  little  girls  sought  shelter  in 
the  mission-house.     As  the  storm  continued,  they  could  not 


360  TllK    TUG    OF   WAR. 

leave  till  evening,  und  tliey  were  hungry  and  began  to  cry. 
The  missionary  lady  gave  them  bread  and  bananas,  and  the 
younger  sister  ate,  but  the  elder  refused. 

Presently  their  parents  came  to  seek  for  them,  and  when 
they  learnt  that  the  youngest  had  eaten  bread  prepared  by 
any  one  not  of  their  own  caste  (worst  of  all  by  a  foreigner), 
they  were  very  angry,  and  declared  that  the  child  was  pol- 
luted, and  that  they  would  be  unable  to  arrange  a  suitable 
marriage  for  her.  They  were  in  sore  perplexity,  but  decided 
that  the  lady  had  better  keep  the  child  and  bring  it  up. 

To  this  she  gladly  agreed,  and  the  little  one  was  soon 
quite  at  home.  Her  new  friend  sprinkled  sand  on  the  floor 
of  the  verandah,  and  thereon  wrote  the  247  letters  of  the 
Tamil  alphabet,  a  few  every  day,  till  her  young  pupil  could 
write  them  all  herself.  Some  little  Tamil  playmates  came 
to  see  her,  and  were  so  delighted  with  this  new  game  that 
they  came  again  and  again,  and  very  soon  they  were  all 
able  to  read,  to  their  own  great  delight  and  the  surprise  of 
their  parents. 

Seeing  how  happy  and  well-cared-for  the  first  little 
girl  was,  other  parents  consented  to  intrust  their  children 
to  the  foreign  lady,  and  thus  in  1824  commenced  the 
Oodooville  (or,  as  now  spelt,  Uduvil)  Girls'  Boarding  School, 
probably  the  earliest  effort  of  the  sort  in  a  heathen  land. 

(I  may  remark  in  passing,  that  in  1887  several  girls  in 
the  Oodooville  training-school  passed  far  ahead  of  any  of 
the  boys,  a  circumstance  which  proved  quite  a  shock  to 
the  Tamil  believers  in  feminine  incapacity  for  intellectual 
studies  !) 

This  school  grew  to  very  great  importance  under  the 
care  of  Miss  Eliza  Agnew,  "the  mother  of  a  thousand 
daughters,"   as    she    was    lovingly    called    by    the   people. 


MLSS    ELIZA    AGNEW.  361 

When  herself  a  child  only  eight  years  of  age,  at  home  in 
New  York,  her  school-teacher,  in  giving  a  geography  lesson 
to  her  clasSj  pointed  out  the  large  proportion  of  the  world 
which  is  still  heathen.  Then  and  there  one  little  pupil 
resolved  that,  if  God  would  allow  her,  she  would  go  and 
teach  some  of  these  to  love  her  Saviour. 

Domestic  duties  tied  her  to  her  home  till  she  was  a 
woman  of  thirty,  when  the  death  of  lier  only  near  relations 
left  her  free  to  follow  her  early  impulse,  and  she  was  allowed 
to  join  the  newly-established  American  Mission  at  Jaffna. 
There  she  worked  without  intermission  for  forty-three  years, 
loved  and  loving,  and  teaching  successive  generations,  the 
children,  and  even  some  grandchildren,  of  her  first  pupils. 
Upwards  of  a  thousand  girls  studied  under  her  care,  and  of 
these  more  than  six  hundred  left  the  school  as  really  earnest 
Christians. 

These  became  the  wives  of  catechists,  teachers,  native 
pastors,  lawyers.  Government  officials,  and  other  leading 
men  in  the  Jaffna  peninsula,  so  that  the  influence  exerted 
by  this  one  devoted  Christian  woman  has  been  beyond  cal- 
culation. Hundreds  of  these  families  attended  lier  funeral, 
sorrowing  as  for  no  earthly  mother. 

The  two  sisters  who  told  me  these  details,  and  who 
themselves  carried  on  her  work  and  tended  her  last  hours, 
added :  "  In  hundreds  of  villages  in  Ceylon  and  India  there 
is  just  such  a  work  waiting  to  be  done  by  Christian  young 
women  as  that  which,  with  God's  blessing,  Miss  Agnew 
accomplished  in  the  Jaffna  peninsula.  Heathen  lands  are 
open  to-day  as  they  have  never  been  open  before ;  the 
stronghold  of  heathenism  is  in  the  homes.  It  is  the  women 
who  are  teaching  the  children  to  perform  the  heatlien  cere- 
monies, to  sing  the  songs  in  praise  of  the  heathen  gods,  and 


M'd  THE    TUC    OF    WAR. 

thus  they  are  moulding  the  habits  of  thought  of  the  coming 
generation.  If  we  are  to  win  the  world  for  Christ,  we 
must  lay  our  hands  on  the  hands  that  rock  the  cradles, 
and  teach  Christian  songs  to  the  lips  that  sing  the  lullabies ; 
and  if  we  can  win  the  mothers  to  Christ,  the  sons  will  soon 
be  brought  to  fall  at  the  feet  of  their  Eedeemer. 

"  Zenanas,  which  forty  years  ago  were  locked  and  barred, 
are  to-day  open.  We  have  been  told  by  Hindoo  gentlemen 
that  there  are  many  educated  men  in  India  to-day  who  are 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and  would  confess 
Christ,  were  it  not  that  a  wife  or  mother,  who  has  never 
been  instructed  about  Him,  would  bitterly  oppose  their 
doing  so." 

They  added  that  in  India  alone  there  are  120,000,000 
women  and  girls  ;  that  in  Great  Britain  alone  there  are 
about  1,000,000  more  women  than  men,  and  yet  the  total 
number  of  women  who  have  as  yet  volunteered  for  this 
honourable  work  in  India,  counting  all  in  connection  with 
every  Protestant  Missionary  Society,  is  barely  500 ;  and 
knowing  from  full  personal  experience  the  gladness  of  life 
and  fortune  consecrated  to  this  grand  cause,  they  ask,  "  Can- 
not many  more  women  be  spared  from  their  homes,  and 
cannot  more  go  who  are  possessed  of  private  means,  and 
here  realise  how  satisfying  is  this  life-work  ?  "  ^ 

From  their  own  personal  knowledge  of  pitiful  cases  of 
the  terrilile  suffering  of  women,  owing  to  the  total  lack  of 
the  very  simplest  medical  skill,  and  to  the  barbarous  system 
of  so-called  "sick-nursing"  (which  makes  one  marvel  how  sick 
persons  ever  survive),  these  ladies  specially  plead  for  trained 

1  For  most  interesting  details  of  the  work  of  these  two  sisters,  see  "  Seven 
Years  in  Ceylon,"  by  Mary  and  Margaret  Leitch.  Published  by  S.  W.  Part- 
ridge &  Co.     Price  2s.  6d.,  post  free. 


BARBAROUS    NATIVK    CUSTOMS.  363 

medical  women  to  come  to  the  aid  of  their  sisters  iu  Ceylon 
and  India.  But  on  this  subject  I  cannot  do  better  than 
quote  part  of  a  letter  from  Dr.  Chapman,  a  native  Christian 
doctor  at  Jaffna,  who,  speaking  of  the  need  for  a  Medical 
Mission  for  Women  in  Ceylon,  says  : — 

"A  favourite  prescription  is  a  pill  made  of  croton-seed.  One  pill 
will  act  ]ierhaps  forty  times  !  The  stronger  the  pill  is  the  better,  so 
they  think.  Sometimes  one  pill  is  enough  to  kill  a  person.  Two 
cases  of  such  mistreatment,  and  death  from  that  cause  alone,  happened 
recently  to  two  Christian  women,  both  of  whom  were  teachers  in  mission 
schools." 

He  also  writes  at  some  considerable  length  about  the 
heathen  doctors  not  allowing  their  patients  water  or  suffi- 
cient food,  and  speaks  of  many  cases  of  death  simply  from 
starvation. 

Speaking  of  barbarous  native  customs  in  regard  to  child- 
birth, he  says  :  — 

"  A  few  days  ago  I  was  asked  to  go  to  a  house  where  a  woman  was 
being  confined.  The  woman  was  tied  to  the  roof  of  the  house  V)y  a 
rough  rope,  and  kept  standing  upon  her  knees.  She  was  also  supported 
by  other  native  women.  The  room  was  very  small,  and  as  no  ventila- 
tion was  allowed,  was  very  hot.  The  poor  woman  and  her  friends  were 
in  profuse  perspiration.  She  was  held  up  iu  this  jjosition  tlirec  days 
and  two  nifjhtx.  She  was  not  allowed  to  rest  or  lie  down  at  all.  Tlie 
friends  of  the  woman,  who  were  holding  her  up,  took  turns  with  each 
other  and  rested  themselves,  Init  the  poor  woman  had  no  one  to  change 
with. 

"When  I  reached  the  house,  her  limbs  were  cold,  and  she  was  not 
able  to  hold  up  her  head,  and  was  fast  sinking.  1  ordered  tliat  they 
should  take  her  down  and  let  her  lie  on  the  ground,  and  that  they 
should  give  her  brandy  and  anmumia.  ...  I  did  everything  in  my 
power  to  save  her,  but  she  died  tiie  following  night. 

"  In  all  such  cases  of  confinement  the  women  are  held  up  in  this  standintf 
posture  for  da>/s  and  nights  until  the  child  is  born  or  the  woman  dies.    The 


301  TllK    TU(;    OF    WAR. 

reason  of  tliis  great  superstition,  among  the  poor  and  the  rich,  among 
the  educated  and  uneducated,  anion^'  the  Christians  and  heathen,  all 
alike,  is  that  they  think  gravitation  will  assist  the  mother  in  the  birth 
of  the  child.  By  thus  being  held  up  for  days  without  rest  or  food, 
the  mother  loses  her  whole  strength,  and,  in  many  instances,  becomes 
unalde  to  bring  forth  her  babe. 

"However,  if  a  child  is  born,  the  mother  is  taken  to  another  room 
and  is  bathed,  that  is  to  say,  she  is  laid  on  a  cold  mud  floor  and  cold 
water  is  dashed  all  over  her  till  she  is  thorou;_'lily  chilled.  This  is 
immediately  done  with  all  possible  haste,  without  letting  the  mother 
rest  a  moment,  of  course  causing  a  fearful  shock  to  the  system. 

"  If  she  escapes  this  crisis,  she  is  laid  on  a  mat,  and  a  strongly  spiced 
paste  is  given  lier  to  eat,  which  is  made  of  pepper,  garlic,  and  ginger. 
Nothing  else  is  given  her  for  three  days.  No  water  is  given.  On  the 
fourth  day  rice  is  given,  with  hot  spices  and  dried  fisli.  She  is  daily 
batlied  in  hot  water,  spices  and  oil  are  freely  given  her  to  eat ;  not  a 
drop  of  water  is  she  allowed  to  drink.  Tlie  mother  is  allowed  to  nurse 
the  child  only  on  the  fifth  day.  Every  woman  must  get  fever  on  the 
fifth  day.  Fever  is  good,  they  think.  Before  the  fifth  day  tlie  child  is 
fed  with  some  decoction. 

"The  population  of  the  province  is  about  316,000,  and  taking  tlie 
birth-rate  at  3  per  cent.,  there  must  be  some  9480  births  every  year, 
and  yet  there  are  no  trained  midwives  to  assist  in  such  cases." 

The  fact  that  this  doctor  was  only  called  after  the 
woman  had  been  tied  up  to  the  roof  of  the  house  for  three 
days  and  two  nights,  and  when  it  was  too  late  for  him  to 
render  any  aid,  shows  the  extreme  reluctance  of  the  people 
to  call  for  the  help  of  a  male  doctor  at  such  times. 

Miss  Leitch  tells  me  that  in  such  cases  she  has  gone  into 
homes  where  the  poor  exhausted  woman  was  lying  shiver- 
ing on  a  cold  mat  and  literally  dying  for  want  of  a  warm 
drink,  while  the  house  has  been  crowded  with  relatives 
bewailing  as  for  one  already  dead.  By  turning  them  all 
out  and  applying  needful  warmth,  she  has  had  the  happi- 
ness of  seeing  the  poor  mother  recover,  but  knew  that, 
however    exhausted  she  herself    might    be,  she   dared   not 


FEMALE    MEDICAL    STUDENTS.  365 

leave  the  nouse,  as  all  the  relatives  would  at  ouce  return, 
and  pandemonium  would  again  surround  the  sick-bed. 
In  many  houses  devil-dancers  are  called  in  to  exorcise 
the  evil  spirits  supposed  to  be  present,  and  the  wretched 
patient  is  distracted  by  the  beating  of  tomtoms  for  hours  at 
a  time. 

Here  then  is  one  grand  field  of  work  for  Christian 
women,  as  yet  wholly  unoccupied,  and  assuredly,  of  all 
phases  of  work,  is  that  wliich  most  closely  assimilates  to 
His,  the  merciful  Master,  Who  won  men's  hearts  by  heal- 
ing all  manner  of  sickness  and  disease. 

A  very  important  step  was  taken  this  year  when  Dr. 
Kynsey,  the  principal  medical  officer  of  Ceylon,  sought  the 
Governor's  sanction  for  the  admission  of  female  students 
into  the  Medical  College  at  Colombo,  there  to  be  trained  as 
doctors  for  their  countrywomen.  The  College  will  be  open 
to  them  from  May  1st,  1892,  when  they  will  attend  the 
same  lectures  as  male  students,  but  have  separate  class- 
rooms for  anatomy,  their  studies  being  directed  by  Mrs.  Van 
Ingen,  a  fully  qualified  lady-doctor,  herself  trained  in  the 
Indian  Medical  School  for  women,  founded  by  Lady  Dufferin 
in  1885. 

That  great  scheme  has  already  resulted  in  the  establish- 
ment of  38  hospitals  specially  for  w^omen,  with  40  lady- 
doctors,  while  20'1'  female  students  are  now  being  educated 
to  aid  the  suffering  women  of  India. 

Scholarships  and  other  inducements  will  be  offered  to 
attract  students  in  Ceylon  ;  and,  as  in  India,  the  scheme  will 
be  worked  on  entirely  unsectarian  lines,  no  attempt  being 
made  to  influence  the  religion  of  either  students  or  patients. 

It  is  certainly  much  to  be  regretted  that  Christian  medical 
missions  should  have  been  unable  to  occupy  this  field,  and 


36G  TIIK    TUC    OF    WAI^ 

secure  so  important  a  means  of  influence,  instead  of  its  be- 
coming an  altogether  secmlar  a<<ency. 

As  regards  the  quiet  extension  of  purely  spiritual  work, 
many  of  the  native  Christian  women  now  recognise  the  duty 
of  trying  to  inlluence  their  heathen  sisters  by  visiting  them 
in  their  homes ;  and  though  such  work  implies  very  great 
ellbrt  on  the  part  of  those  in  whom  the  second  nature  of 
custom  has  exaggerated  natural  timidity,  a  considerable 
number  are  now  doing  excellent  service  as  Bible-women, 
even  making  their  way  in  the  wholly  heathen  villages. 

Some  of  the  Tamil  women  who  have  undertaken  this  good 
work  are  the  wives  of  Government  officials,  doctors,  or 
lawyers,  so  that  their  words  are  the  more  certain  to  carry 
weight  with  their  countrywomen,  who  invariably  receive 
them  with  respect,  and  acknowledge  that  only  a  strong  con- 
viction of  religious  duty  combined  with  a  remarkable  love 
to  their  unknown  neighbours  could  possibly  have  induced 
them  to  come  forth  from  the  privacy  of  their  own  homes. 
This  movement  was  commenced  in  Jaffna  in  1868  by  the 
Wesleyan  Mission,  and  was  successfully  adopted  by  the 
English  Church  and  American  Missions  there.  The  latter 
has  upwards  of  forty  of  these  good  pioneers  now  working  in 
various  parts  of  the  peninsula. 

From  one  district  the  superintendent  writes  :  "  The  Bible- 
readers  teach  in  the  forenoon,  and  every  afternoon  go  from 
village  to  village,  collecting  the  women  and  holding  meet- 
ings. Thus  twenty  villages  are  visited.  The  great  interest 
of  our  work  consists  in  the  willingness  of  the  women  of  all 
classes  to  learn  to  read  for  themselves.  There  are  now  in 
this  district  373  women  under  instruction.  One  hundred 
can  now  read  the  Bible,  and  all  the  rest  are  learning.  The 
majority  of  the  women  are  of  the  Yellala  or  farmer  caste. 


WORK    OF    TH?:    AMERICAN    MISSION.  367 

Last  year  we  had  nine  Brahman  women,  now  we  have 
twenty-two.  Of  other  classes  we  have  a  few  from  the 
barber,  carpenter,  washer,  and  tree-climber  (i.e.,  toddy- 
drawer)  villages.  Many  of  these  attend  the  weekly  meetings 
of  the  '  Helping  Hand  Society  '  for  study  and  recitation." 

Another  superintendent  of  ten  Bible-women  tells  of  their 
weekly  visits  to  375  women  in  their  respective  village-homes. 
Each  of  these  women  undertakes  to  learn  by  heart  ^  each 
week  four  verses  of  the  Bible  and  part  of  a  hymn,  the  por- 
tions selected  being  those  assigned  in  the  village  day-schools, 
in  order  that  the  little  girls,  on  their  return  home  in  the 
evening,  may  thus  become  pupil-teachers,  helping  their 
mothers  and  grown-up  sisters  to  learn  their  lessons.  In 
truth,  the  story  of  the  Mission  records  some  very  pathetic 
instances  of  how  the  ewes  follow  the  lambs — in  other  words, 
how  the  simple  faith  of  little  children  has  resulted  in  the 
conversion  of  their  parents.  Of  course,  the  primary  object 
of  each  visitor  is  to  teach  every  woman  to  pray,  and  they 
have  reason  to  hope  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  their 
pupils  do  so,  many  having  had  the  courage  openly  to  con- 
fess their  conversion. 

In  addition  to  this  house-to-house  visitation,  these  ten 
Bible-women  teach  sewing  to  upward  of  250  girls  at  twelve 
day-schools ;  they  also  teach  in  the  Sunday-schools,  and 
otherwise  make  themselves  useful  in  arranging  women's 
meetings. 

Similar  reports,  more  or  less  encouraging,  come  from  the 
other  districts,  in  one  of  which,  at  a  meeting  of  heathen 
women,  one  told  how  fifty  years  ago,  when  quite  a  child,  she 
had  been  for  six  months  at  one  of  the  Mission  boardincr- 
schools,  when  her  parents  removed  her  in  consequence  of 

'  "  To  memorise  "  is  the  expressive  American  abbreviation. 


3G8  THE   TUG    OF   WAR. 

an  outbreak  of  whoopiiii,'-cougli,  and  she  liad  not  been  allowed 
to  return.  But  those  six  months  seemed  to  remain  in  her 
memory  as  the  one  bright  spot  of  life. 

To  some  of  the  high-caste  women,  the  fact  that  the  Bible- 
women  are  mostly  of  low  caste  is  in  itself  an  objection  to 
submitting  to  their  teaching,  which  is  only  overcome  by  the 
ambition  of  learning  to  read ;  the  fact,  too,  of  having  to  sit 
on  equal  terms  amongst  pupils  who  are  also  of  low  caste  is 
at  first  a  great  barrier  to  women  of  the  higher  castes  attend- 
ing any  meeting.  In  many  cases,  however,  this  difficulty 
has  been  overcome,  and  a  kindliness  hitherto  undreamt  of 
seems  to  herald  the  dawn  of  the  faith  which  teaches  un- 
selfish loving-kindness. 

Remembering  how  the  first  girl  was  given  to  the  care  of 
the  missionaries,  because,  having  eaten  of  their  bread,  she 
was  polluted,  it  is  touching  to  hear  now  of  an  annual  meet- 
ing at  Batticotta  of  the  Native  Missionary  Society,  at  which 
upwards  of  a  thousand  communicants  assemble,  the  native 
Christians  of  the  town  providing  an  abundant  meal  of  curry 
and  rice  for  all  visitors — a  putting  aside  of  caste  prejudices 
which  is  indeed  a  triumph  of  grace. 

Formerly  some  heathen  families  who  sent  their  daughters 
to  the  mission-schools  used  to  insist  on  elaborate  ceremo- 
nial ablutions  before  allowing  them  to  re-enter  their  home 
in  the  evening ! 

The  regular  work  of  the  American  Mission  at  Jafiha  is 
carried  on  by  eleven  native  pastors  and  about  sixty  assis- 
tants, under  the  supervision  of  five  married  missionaries. 
Here,  as  in  the  Hawaian  isles,  the  venerable  American 
missionaries,  several  of  whom  have  here  toiled  ceaselessly 
for  half  a  century,  are  affectionately  designated  "  Father  " 
of  their  Hock.      Thus  the  late  much-loved  Principal  of  the 


AMERICAN    MISSION    AT   JAFFNA.  369 

College,  Father  Hastings,  is  succeeded  in  office  by  Father 
Rowland.  Father  and  Mrs.  Spaulding,  and  I  think  Father 
Smith,  also  each  gave  upwards  of  fifty  years'  work  to  Jaffna, 
and  have  left  sons  and  daughters  who  follow  in  their  steps. 
Each  district  has  at  least  one  chapel,  but  great  efforts  are 
made  to  carry  on  systematic  preaching  in  as  many  villages 
as  possible,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  numerous  books.  Bibles, 
and  portions  of  Scripture  sold  by  colporteurs  will  prove 
silent  teachers  in  many  homes.  Not  only  all  the  schools, 
but  also  the  police-courts  are  found  to  be  suitable  preach- 
ing centres,  on  account  of  the  large  number  of  people  who 
generally  congregate  in  the  neighbourhood. 

It  is  also  hoped  that  much  good  may  result  from  the 
multiplication  of  what  are  called  "  moonlight  meetings," 
which  are  informal  meetings  in  the  homes  of  any  of  the 
people  who  care  to  call  together  their  friends  and  neighbours 
for  religious  discussion  or  instruction.  The  workers  of  all 
denominations  agree  as  to  the  advantage  of  diligently  pro- 
secuting this  system,  which  seems  to  find  much  favour  with 
the  people,  who  in  some  districts  assemble  to  the  number 
of  several  hundreds.  In  some  of  the  Singhalese  districts 
even  Buddhist  priests  sometimes  attend  these  meetings  in 
quite  a  friendly  spirit. 

Naturally,  however,  this  is  not  always  the  case,  the  zeal 
of  the  Christian  preachers  sometimes  awakening  a  corre- 
sponding energy  in  the  more  rigid  Buddhists.  For  instance, 
the  marked  success  of  the  moonlight  meetings  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Cotta,  near  Colombo,  induced  the  Buddhists  to 
commence  holding  opposition  services.  The  majority  of  the 
people,  however,  refused  to  countenance  these,  declaring  that 
the  Christians  "  were  only  doing  their  own  work  and  trying 

VOL.  II.  2  A 


370  THE    TUG    OF    WAR. 

to  do  good,  aud  that  to  commence  such  meetings  simply  out 
of  spite  or  envy  showed  a  very  bad  spirit ! " 

As  regards  open-air  preaching  in  the  streets  or  other 
public  places,  Buddhists  and  Christians  being  alike  pro- 
tected by  the  British  Government,  have  precisely  the  same 
liberty  and  security. 

The  total  number  of  Church  members  in  connection  with 
thii  American  Congregational  Mission  is  as  yet  only  about 
1300,  but  the  attendants  at  public  worship  are  about  7000 ; 
and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  a  very  much  larger  num- 
ber are  converts  at  heart,  although  the  fear  of  domestic 
persecution,  and  the  difficulties  of  strict  Sabbatical  observ- 
ance and  of  disposing  of  extra  wives,  prevent  many  from 
professing  themselves  Christians. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  Christian  institutions  in 
Ceylon  is  the  College  for  Tamils  at  Batticotta,  in  the  Jaffna 
peninsula,  which  originated  in  a  purely  spontaneous  effort 
made  in  1867  by  the  native  Christians  in  that  district 
to  secure  for  themselves  and  their  descendants  a  superior 
education  both  in  English  and  Tamil.  They  succeeded  in 
raising  £1700 — a  large  sum  in  a  land  where  the  wage  of 
a  labourer  is  but  6d.  a  day.  This  nest-egg  was  supple- 
mented by  £6000  from  America,  and  in  1872  the  college 
was  started  under  the  control  of  a  board  of  directors. 
These  are  the  Government  Agent  of  the  Northern  Province, 
eleven  representatives  of  the  native  Christian  gentlemen  of 
the  community,  and  the  senior  missionaries  of  the  three 
Christian  regiments  which  work  in  that  province  in  such 
admirable  brotherly  union,  namely,  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land Mission  and  the  American  and  Wesleyan  Missions, 
all  of  whom  are  in  full  sympathy  with  the  work  of  this 
noble  institution. 


COLLEGE   FOR   TAMILS    AT    BATTICOTTA,  371 

While  the  college  is  undenomiuational,  it  is  essentially 
Christian,  and  the  form  of  worship  adopted  is  Congrega- 
tional. Not  one  heathen  teacher  has  ever  been  employed 
in  it,  and  all  students  are  required  to  live  on  the  premises, 
and  are  thus  continuously  under  strong  Christian  influence. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  Hindoo  young  men  of  high 
caste  vpould  object  to  paying  full  price  for  board  and 
lodging  in  a '  college  where  a  standing  rule  is  that  all 
inmates  shall  refrain  from  heathen  practices,  and  from 
wearing  idolatrous  marks  on  their  foreheads ;  but  so  highly 
is  the  education  prized,  that  no  objection  to  these  con- 
ditions is  ever  made,^  and  the  Hindoo  students  not  only 
eat,  sleep,  and  live  with  the  Christians,  but  unite  in  the 

^  Perhaps  I  ought  to  say  "  no  objection  by  those  really  concerned." 
In  point  of  fact,  a  party-cry  of  "  religious  intolerance  "  was  raised  a  few 
years  ago  by  certain  wealthy  Hindoos,  who,  although  too  indifferent 
to  establish  schools  for  themselves,  made  this  a  ground  of  attack  on 
missionaries,  who  rightly  insist  on  all  children  who  attend  Christian 
schools  coming  with  clean  faces,  that  is  to  say,  without  the  temple 
marks  of  cow-dung  ash  on  their  foreheads. 

So  many  Europeans  seem  to  think  that  they  cannot  yield  sufficiently 
courteous  recognition  to  heathen  customs,  that  the  strong  words  of 
Bishop  Copleston  on  this  question  may  well  be  remembered.  "  It 
matters  everything  what  we  teach  by  our  action  to  our  heathen 
neighbours  and  to  our  Christian  people.  Let  us  teach  that  the  symbol 
of  Siva — if  it  means  anything  but  a  dirty  face — is  an  outrage  on  the 
majesty  and  love  of  the  One  True  God,  that  it  is  what  Scripture  calls 
'an  abomination,'  to  be  abhorred  by  all  loyal  children  of  the  One 
Father.     And  let  us  remind  our  own   people   that  there  is  such 

A  THING  AS  A  SOUND  AND  TRULY  RELIGIOUS  INTOLERANCE,  WHICH 
IS  NOT  TOLERANT  OP  AB'FRONTS  TO  OUR  GOD  ;  WHICH  WILL  NOT 
TREAT    AS  ONE   AMONG    MANY   FORMS    OF    RELIGION    THE   WORSHIP    OF 

IDOLS  AND  THE  DENIAL  OF  OUR  LoRD.  .  .  .  Our  heathen  neighbours 
will  have  reason  to  thank  us  in  the  end,  and  in  the  meantime  will 
respect  us,  if  we  are  di.'teriuiued  both  to  speak  and  act  the  truth  ia 
love." 


372  .  THE   THG    OF    WAR. 

daily  study  of  the  Bible,  and  are  present  at  morning  and 
evening  prayers,  the  Sabbath-school,  and  church  services 
of  the  American  Mission. 

This  college  takes  no  grant-in-aid  from  Government,  and 
until  June  1891  it  was  not  affiliated  to  any  university,^  as 
experience  proves  that  students  who  are  working  for  passes 
grudge  the  time  bestowed  on  Biblical  study,  which  does 
not  count  in  their  examinations.  Naturally  a  college  which 
recognises  the  training  of  Christian  catechists  and  school- 
masters as  the  primary  object  of  its  existence  prefers  to  be 
independent  of  a  purely  secular  superior. 

The  result  of  this  system  has  been,  that  out  of  about 
350  students  who  have  been  educated  here,  fully  150  have 
gone  out  into  the  world  as  Christians  and  communicants, 
and  are  leading  such  consistent  lives  as  tend  greatly  to  up- 
hold the  honour  of  their  faith. 

In  India,  on  the  other  hand,  where  in  the  Government 
schools  absolutely  secular  education  is  given,  with  entire 
disregard  to  religion — even  Bible-reading  being  set  aside 
— the  statistics  of  the  four  universities  show  that  only 
between  four  and  five  per  cent,  of  the  graduates  are  Chris- 
tians ;  the  rest,  for  the  most  part,  while  learning  to  despise 
heathenism,  drift  into  agnosticism,  and  even  atheism. 

I  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  a  paragraph  on  this  sub- 
ject from  a  non-Christian  Bombay  paper.  The  writer  says  : 
"Education  provided  by  the  State  simply  destroys  Hin- 
dooism  ;  it  gives  nothing  in  its  place.  It  is  founded  on  the 
benevolent  principle  of  non-interference  with  religion,  but 
in  practice  it  is  the  negation  of  God  in  life.     Education 

1  The  directors  state  that  the  decision  of  Government  to  give  up  Cam- 
bridge and  introduce  London,  has  compelled  them  to  affiliate  the  Jaflfna 
College  to  that  of  Calcutta. 


THE    NEGATION    OF    GOD    IN    LIFE.  373 

must  destroy  idolatry,  and  the  State  education  of  India, 
benevolent  in  its  idea,  practically  teaches  atheism.  It  leaves 
its  victims  without  any  faith." 

This  lamentable  result,  which  is  flooding  India  with  a 
multitude  of  highly-educated  utter  sceptics,  was  vividly 
brought  home  to  the  Christian  workers  in  Jaffna  when 
they  found  the  existing  college  totally  inadequate  for  the 
number  of  promising  young  men  in  the  schools,  who  were 
consequently  compelled  to  cross  over  to  India,  and  there 
seek  the  "  higher  education  "  in  Government  schools. 

Many  of  these  were  apparently  on  the  verge  of  professing 
themselves  Christians,  but  after  a  course  of  two  or  three 
years  in  totally  heathen  and  grossly  immoral  surroundings, 
they  invariably  returned  either  as  bitter  heathen  or  atheists; 
a  state  of  matters  all  the  more  distressing  as  they  were 
in  many  cases  betrothed  to  Christian  girls  in  the  mission 
schools. 

It  was  evident  that  the  Christian  college  at  Jaffna  must 
be  placed  on  such  a  footing  as  to  enable  it  to  meet  this 
ever-increasing  need.  A  sum  of  £30,000  was  required  for 
its  immediate  extension,  and  it  is  delightful  to  know  that 
this  has  been  almost  raised  by  the  efforts  of  the  two  sisters 
of  whom  I  have  already  spoken,  and  who  came  to  Britain 
and  to  America  for  this  purpose. 

There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  this  college  is 
destined  to  fill  a  very  important  part  in  the  evangelisation 
of  India,  for  this  reason,  namely,  that  a  singularly  large 
proportion  of  the  Tamils  resident  on  the  peninsula  of 
Jaffna  are  of  very  high  caste,  and  the  15,000  children 
attending  the  Christian  day-schools  and  the  2500  com- 
municants connected  with  the  three  missions  are  mostly  of 
high  caste.     It  is  scarcely  possible  for  Europeans  to  realise 


374  THE    TUfi    OF    WAR. 

how  deeply  ingrained  in  Hindoo  nature  is  the  reverence 
for  all  members  of  the  upper  castes,  however  poor  they 
may  be,  and  the  natural  tendency  to  look  with  contempt 
on  low-caste  men.  Now  it  so  happens  that  in  India 
the  majority  of  converts  are  of  low  caste,  and  these,  as 
a  general  rule,  are  not  only  intellectually  inferior  to  the 
higher  castes,  but  are  generally  too  poor  to  afford  the 
highest  course  of  education.  Consequently  Brahman 
teachers,  whose  caste  secures  unbounded  reverence,  are 
frequently  found  even  in  the  Mission  colleges  and  high- 
schools,  with  the  badge  of  heathen  gods  on  their  foreheads, 
instructing  the  students  in  the  highest  classes,  while  native 
Christian  teachers  take  the  lower  subjects.  Possibly  the 
native  pastor  who  gives  the  Bible-lessons  is  by  caste  a 
Pariah,  and  however  excellent  he  may  be,  is,  as  such, 
despicable  in  the  eyes  of  the  Hindoo  student. 

Thus  the  social  barrier  of  caste  enters  even  into  the 
Mission  colleges,  acting  as  a  very  serious  drawback.  Of 
course  the  various  Missions  would  gladly  replace  the  Hindoo 
and  Mahommedan  teachers  by  thoroughly  educated  and 
influential  Christian  men,  could  such  be  procured.  The 
Principal  of  the  Lucknow  High  School  alone  states  that 
he  would  thankfully  engage  two  hundred  Christian  teachers 
for  the  schools  of  the  American  Mission  in  that  district, 
were  such  available ;  but  as  it  is,  heathen  teachers  are 
engaged  of  necessity. 

Now  in  these  respects  Jaffna  is  very  remarkably  favoured, 
and  is  apparently  destined  to  become  to  Southern  India 
what  lona  once  was  to  Scotland — the  school  for  her  teachers. 
It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  Tamil  is  one  of  the  four 
great  Dra vidian  tongues,  and  is  the  language  of  13,000,000 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Carnatic,   extending  from  Cape 


CEYLON   THE    lONA    OF    INDIA,  375 

Coraorin  to  Madras.  Glorious  indeed  is  the  prospect  thus 
unfolded,  that  (as  has  been  said)  "  after  having  received  its 
two  false  religions  from  India,  Ceylon  shall,  by  a  Christ- 
like retribution,  send  over  her  sons  to  preach  the  one  true 
religion  to  India's  millions." 

Already  a  large  proportion  of  the  students  trained  in 
Jaffna  College  (men  whose  attainments  fully  qualify  them 
for  secular  work  on  salaries  of  from  £5  to  £10  a  month, 
with  prospects  of  promotion)  have  voluntarily  chosen  to 
devote  their  lives  to  Christian  work  as  teachers,  catechists, 
or  pastors  on  a  salary  of  £1,  10s.  to  begin  with,  and  no 
prospect  of  ever  rising  above  £4  a  month. 

Several  of  the  most  able  have  volunteered  to  leave  their 
beloved  Isle  in  order  to  undertake  posts  in  mission-schools 
at  Kangoon,  Singapore,  Madras,  Madura,  Bombay,  Indore, 
and  many  other  parts  of  India,  where  they  are  working 
most  successfully,  thus  profitably  trading  with  their  birth- 
right talent  of  good  caste.  One  of  these  young  men,  who 
for  some  time  has  been  working  in  Ahmednugger  on  a 
salary  of  £4  a  month,  was  offered  £10  a  month  if  he  would 
accept  work  elsewhere.  He  refused,  saying  that  he  believed 
he  could  do  more  good  where  he  was,  and  where  he  has 
won  extraordinary  influence  with  a  large  class  of  high-caste 
young  Hindoos. 

It  would  be  well  if  some  of  those  who  are  ever  ready 
to  sneer  at  the  imaginary  pecuniary  advantages  which  are 
supposed  to  induence  native  Christians,  could  realise  the 
full  meaning  of  a  few  such  details  as  these,  and  also  the 
extraordinarily  generous  proportion  of  their  salary,  or  other 
worldly  possessions,  which  is  almost  invariably  set  aside 
by  the  converts  in  Ceylon  (and  in  many  other  lands)  as 
their  offering  for  some  form  of  Church  work — tithes,  which 


37G  THE    TUG    OF    WAR. 

we  are  so  apt  to  deem  excessive,  being  accounted  quite  the 
minimum  to  be  offered. 

It  is  quite  a  common  thing  in  the  gardens  of  Chris- 
tians to  see  every  tenth  palm  or  other  fruit-bearing  tree  spe- 
cially marked  in  token  that  its  whole  crop  is  devoted  to 
some  sacred  purpose.  Poultry  is  reared  for  the  same  object, 
and  the  eggs  laid  on  Sunday  are  set  apart  as  an  offering; 
and  even  the  very  poor  families  who  possess  no  garden 
find  a  method  of  contributing  their  mite ;  for  when  the 
mother  is  measuring  out  so  many  handfuls  of  rice  for  each 
member  of  her  household,  she  ends  by  taking  back  one 
large  handful  from  the  common  store,  and  places  it  in  "  the 
Lord's  rice-box,"  the  contents  of  which  are  periodically 
emptied,  and  being  added  to  those  of  many  neighbours, 
make  up  a  considerable  item  in  the  teacher's  store. 

I  have  already  referred  to  the  well-developed  mission- 
ary spirit  of  these  Jaffna  Christians.  So  early  as  1848  this 
showed  itself  in  providing  funds  to  work  a  purely  native 
mission  to  the  28,000  heathen  inhabitants  of  the  large  group 
of  islands  lying  to  the  west  of  the  peninsula.  One  of  these 
isles,  Ninathevu,  is  the  special  care  of  the  Christian  students 
in  the  college,  who  there  built  a  school,  and  now  continue  to 
raise  the  funds  for  the  support  of  their  own  missionary  and 
his  wife  by  devoting  many  of  their  recreation  hours  (while 
the  others  are  playing  cricket  and  other  games)  to  cultivating 
a  garden  and  selling  its  produce. 

These  young  men  also  do  their  utmost  for  the  conversion 
of  the  Hindoo  students  in  the  college,  and  on  Sunday  after- 
noons they  disperse  themselves  over  eight  or  nine  of  the 
neighbouring  villages,  holding  Sabbath-schools,  which  are 
attended  by  about  400  children.  One  of  the  young  men 
invested  £5  in  an  American  organ  to  enliven  the  services 


SELF-DENYING    EFFORTS.  377 

in  one  village — an  extravayauce  which  called  forth  remon- 
strances from  his  relations,  till  he  proved  that  he  had 
simply  abstained  from  spending  it  on  tobacco.^ 

The  Blue  Kibbon  Army  are  also  doing  good  work,  and 
have  successfully  established  brotherhoods  at  JafTna,  Galle, 
and  Kandy. 

There  are  at  present  seventy- six  young  men  in  the 
college,  nine  students  of  divinity,  and  about  400  boys  and 
girls  attending  the  schools.  The  total  attendance  at  the 
village  day-schools  under  the  management  of  the  Principal 
of  the  college  is  about  2500,  and  the  American  mission  has 
about  8000  children  in  other  schools,  of  whom  it  is  cer- 
tain that  a  large  proportion  will  grow  up  as  Christians,  not- 
withstanding the  disadvantage  that  about  one-third  of  the 
teachers  employed  are  unavoidably  heathen. 

The  happy  results  of  the  hearty  co-operation  of  the  Eng- 
lish and  American  missionaries  at  Jaffna  are  especially 
observed  in  the  union  of  all  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciations throughout  the  peninsula,  and  in  their  healthy 
tone.  The  special  value  of  such  associations  may  well  be 
imagined  when  each  member  composing  it  has  had  to  nerve 
liimself  to  come  out  from  the  idolatrous  worship  of  his 
kinsmen,  and  to  endure  the  cross  of  their  ridicule  and  per- 
secution ;  and  to  many  this  has  been  meted  in  full  measure 
and  bravely  and  patiently  boine. 

^  In  looking  over  missionary  subscription  lists,  I  see  that  several  sensible 
men  have  sent  considerable  suns  under  the  very  suggestive  heading  of 
"  Saved  fkom  smoke."  I  could  not  but  think  how  much  pleasanter  many 
of  my  acquaintances  would  be  if  only  they  would  follow  this  example,  and 
leave  the  atmosphere  untainted.  Considering  tliat  men  in  general  do  not 
work  harder  than  the  majority  of  women,  and  their  diet  and  drink  are  cer- 
tainly not  more  stinted  than  that  of  their  sisters,  can  there  be  any  valid 
reason  why,  in  every  household,  tlie  lords  of  creation  should  expend  on  this 
item  of  self-indulgence  a  sum  which,  were  it  devoted  to  missionary  purposes, 
would  entitle  that  family  to  rank  high  among  contributors  to  the  good  cause  f 


378  THE   TUG    OF    WAR. 

The  three  Missions  also  hold  union  Bible-meetings,  at 
which  the  people  are  addressed  by  representatives  of  all 
three  Missions,  and  are  thus  spared  the  confusion  which  is 
so  often  entailed  by  the  antagonistic  attitude  of  Christian 
sects  one  towards  another.  Here,  while  each  retains  its  indi- 
viduality, all  unite  in  one  common  cause,  which  surely  is  the 
true  solution  of  that  much-talked  of  phantom.  Church  union. 

It  seems  to  me  that  a  very  fit  emblem  of  the  Christian 
Church  is  that  of  a  mighty  Wheel,  of  which  Christ  is 
both  tyre  and  axle-tree,  and  His  true  servants  in  all  the 
Christian  regiments  are  the  spokes.  All  are  bound  together 
in  Him,  and  so,  although  they  may  not  touch  one  another, 
all  unite  to  do  His  work  in  the  progress  of  His  kingdom. 
So  the  Wheel,  which  for  ages  has  been  the  symbol  alike  of 
Buddhism  and  of  Sun-worship,  seems  to  me  a  most  appro- 
priate emblem  of  the  true  Sun  of  Eighteousness. 

Though  the  Wesleyan  Mission  in  this  island  cannot  re- 
cord such  startling  success  as  has  attended  its  work  in  the 
fallow  fields  of  the  Fijian  and  some  other  Pacific  groups,  it 
has  a  special  interest  as  being  the  very  first  Oriental  station 
of  this  denomination.  Its  commencement  was  so  strongly 
advocated  by  Dr.  Coke,  that  the  Wesleyan  Conference  con- 
sented to  sanction  his  collecting  funds  and  selecting  com- 
panions willing  to  accompany  him  thither. 

Accordingly,  on  December  30,  1813,  he  embarked  with 
six  missionaries,  two  of  whom  were  married.  But  the 
voyage,  then  in  slow-sailing  vessels,  was  a  very  different 
business  to  the  pleasure  trip  of  the  present  day  by  swift 
steamers.  To  reach  Ceylon  they  had  to  travel  vid  Bombay, 
a  voyage  of  about  six  months,  and  ere  they  sighted  the 
Indian  land  two  of  that  little  company  had  been  called 
home.     The  first  of  these  was  Mrs.  Ault,  wife  of  one  of  the 


THE    WESLEYAN    MISSION.  379 

missionaries.  She  died  in  February.  But  a  yet  sorer  trial 
awaited  the  Mission  in  the  sudden  death  of  their  leader, 
the  zealous  and  energetic  Dr.  Coke,  whose  tnaster-mind  had 
originated  the  whole  movement,  and  whose  death,  ere  even 
reaching  their  destination,  proved  sorely  bewildering  to  the 
survivors,  the  more  so  as  they  were  unable  even  to  cash  his 
bills,  and  so  provide  money  for  their  maintenance.  They 
found  good  friends,  however,  in  Sir  Evan  Nepean.  Governor 
of  Bombay,  and  Lord  Molesworth,  Commandant  of  Galle, 
where  they  finally  arrived  on  the  29th  June  1814,  having 
left  Bombay  nine  days  previously. 

The  Dutch  Church  being  virtually  dead,  there  was  at 
that  time  no  other  mission  of  the  Eeformed  Church  in 
Ceylon,  or  rather  none  had  secured  any  footing ;  therefore, 
after  a  fortnight's  consideration  and  much  prayer  and  con- 
sultation, they  resolved  to  divide  the  laud,  three  of  the  six 
being  sent  north  to  commence  work  in  the  Tamil  districts 
at  Jaffna  and  Batticaloa,  while  the  other  three  were  to 
remain  in  the  southern  districts  among  the  Singhalese 
Buddhists,  establishing  their  headquarters  at  Galle  and 
Matara.  The  former  had,  of  course,  to  begin  by  learning 
the  Tamil  tongue,  while  their  brethren  in  the  south  had  to 
acquire  that  of  the  Singhalese. 

In  the  three  years  that  followed,  the  arrival  of  six  other 
missionaries  enabled  them  to  commence  work  at  Trin- 
comalee,  Negombo,  Kalutara,  and  Point  Pedro,  and  to  spare 
one  of  their  number  to  commence  a  mission  at  ]\Iadras. 
One  is  reminded  of  "  the  grain  of  mustard-seed  "  on  learning 
how  small  were  the  beginnings  of  the  work  which,  though 
it  has  not  yet  "  overshadowed  the  land,"  has  certainly  taken 
firm  root  in  every  province.  At  Port  Pedro  the  first  seed 
was  sown  in  1818,  when  a  piece  of  land  on  the  seaside 


880  THE    TUd    OF    WAR. 

was  rented  for  the  equivalent  of  9d.  a  year,  and  thereon 
was  commenced  a  school  attended  by  twelve  boys. 

In  1819  these  scattered  workers  met  at  Galle  to  estimate 
their  progress.  They  found  that  in  the  past  five  years 
249  persons  had  become  Church  members,  which  of  course 
implied  a  very  much  larger  number  of  attendants  at  Christian 
services,  and  included  several  Buddhist  priests.  Seventy- 
five  schools  had  been  established,  at  which  4484  children 
were  receiving  instruction.  Mission-houses  and  chapels  had 
been  built,  a  considerable  number  of  native  catechists  had 
been  trained  to  teach  their  countrymen,  and  a  printing 
establishment  in  Colombo  was  pouring  forth  thousands  of 
portions  of  the  Scriptures  and  of  tracts. 

Wherever  it  was  found  possible  so  to  renovate  the  old 
Dutch  churches  as  to  make  them  safe,  these  were  occupied, 
but  the  majority  had  gone  so  far  to  ruin  and  decay  that  the 
walls  had  to  be  taken  down  and  rebuilt,  so  that  it  was  in 
most  cases  found  simpler  to  build  afresh.  One  of  the  most 
important  of  the  new  churches  was  that  built  in  1839  at 
Batticaloa,  where  progress  was  particularly  satisfactory,  and 
was  marked  in  the  four  following  years  by  no  less  than  758 
baptisms,  of  which  447  were  of  adults. 

The  Batticaloa  station  embraces  a  large  number  of  vil- 
lages scattered  along  the  seaboard  for  a  distance  of  eighty 
miles,  and  is  worked  from  two  mission  centres — one  at  the 
capital,  which  is  known  to  the  natives  as  Puliantivu,  and 
the  other  at  Kalmunai.  The  latter,  however,  seems  as  yet 
to  have  afforded  comparatively  small  encouragement ;  but 
recently  an  awakening  seems  to  have  commenced,  a  symp- 
tom of  which  is  the  largely  increased  attendance  of  native 
women  at  the  village  meetings,  after  one  of  which  the 
native  minister  was  surprised  and  gladdened  by  the  remark 


THE    WESLEYAN    MISSION.  381 

of  a  heathen  man  of  good  position,  "  I  verily  believe  that 
your  religion  will  soon  overspread  this  place,  and  surely 
stamp  out  ours." 

The  opening  at  Kalmunai  of  a  girl's  boarding-school  is  in 
itself  a  sure  detail  of  success,  as  has  been  ■well  proven  by 
a  similar  school  at  Batticaloa,  in  the  immediate  neighbour- 
hood of  which  the  Wesleyans  have  also  nine  day-schools 
for  girls  and  about  twenty  for  boys,  with  a  total  of  about 
2500  pupils. 

At  Trincomalee,  Port  Pedro,  and  most  of  the  other  sta- 
tions, the  same  care  is  extended  to  the  girls ;  indeed  at  Jaffna 
the  Wesleyan  Mission  established  a  boarding-school  for  their 
benefit  so  early  as  1837.  Certainly  it  could  only  accommo- 
date six  girls,  but  it  has  gone  on  steadily  increasing,  and 
now  numbers  upwards  of  100  boarders.  Parents  of  the 
upper  class,  who  will  only  allow  very  young  girls  to  attend 
day-schools,  do  not  object  to  send  their  daughters  to  board- 
ing-schools, paying  a  moderate  fee  towards  their  expenses, 
and  so  well  pleased  are  they  to  see  them  turn  out  so 
neat,  clean,  and  punctual  in  their  habits,  so  well  instructed 
in  the  art  of  needlework,  and  especially  in  making  their 
own  clothes,  that  they  are  content  to  accept  the  probability 
of  their  becoming  Christians,  a  result  which  very  frequently 
follows,  so  that  such  schools  are  likely  to  exercise  an  ever- 
enlarging  influence  on  the  homes  of  the  next  generation. 

In  many  parts  of  the  country,  however,  mothers,  and  espe- 
cially grandmothers,  who  themselves  have  had  no  education, 
fail  to  see  its  advantage  for  their  descendants,  and  many 
girls  who  were  converts  at  heart  have  been  removed  from 
the  schools  and  compelled  again  to  kneel  before  idol  shrines. 
Of  course  here,  as  in  all  other  heathen  lands,  a  very  large  num- 
ber of  hearers  are  convinced  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and 


382  THK    TIKI    OF    WAR. 

many  are  practically  Christians  at  heart,  but  have  not  yet 
found  courage  to  face  the  inevitable  domestic  persecution 
that  awaits  them  when  their  inward  conviction  results  in 
outward  profession. 

One  thing  certain  is  that,  sooner  or  later,  every  school 
yields  some  converts,  and  the  testimony  of  all  the  Missions 
is  that  more  than  half  the  adults  who  eventually  become 
Christians  attribute  their  conversion  to  teaching  received 
in  the  schools,  which  they  had  ignored  at  the  time,  but 
which,  like  well-laid  fuel,  w^as  ready  to  ignite  in  due  season. 
In  many  cases  these  early  impressions  smoulder  on  through 
half  a  lifetime  ere  the  convert  finds  courage  openly  to  confess 
the  faith  which  must  subject  him  to  such  severe  domestic 
persecution.  For  instance,  amongst  those  who  have  recently 
sought  baptism  from  the  Church  Mission  at  Jaffna,  one  was 
the  hereditary  manager  of  a  famous  Hindoo  temple,  who  for 
thirty  long  years  had  vainly  striven  to  silence  the  inward 
voice  which  first  spoke  to  his  conscience  at  the  mission- 
school. 

Another  is  an  old  man  seventy-five  years  of  age,  who  in 
his  boyhood  attended  the  American  school.  He  was  a  very 
hopeful  pupil,  and  was  the  subject  of  much  special  prayer. 
He  w^as,  however,  removed  by  his  relations,  all  of  whom 
were  strict  worshippers  of  the  Hindoo  gods.  From  the  time 
he  left  school  he  never  entered  a  heathen  temple,  but, 
like  Nicodemus  of  old,  he  sought  God  secretly  by  night, 
dreading  the  persecution  which  he  knew  would  result  from 
confessing  his  Lord.  Sometimes  he  spoke  to  his  wife 
about  Christianity,  but  she  called  him  a  madman,  and  so 
he  still  shrank  from  taking  up  such  a  cross  as  that  of  open 
avowal.  At  last,  when  attacked  by  a  severe  illness,  he 
vowed  that  if  he  recovered  he  would  confess  himself  to  be 


SCHOOL   INFLUENCE    LONG   DORMANT.  383 

a  disciple  of  Christ.  He  did  recover,  and  kept  his  vow  ; 
whereupon  his  own  daughters  turned  him  out  of  the  house, 
and  the  old  man  would  have  been  left  to  starve  had  not  a 
still  older  Christian  catechist,  who  was  a  distant  connection 
of  his  own,  offered  him  a  home  under  his  roof,  thus  securing 
a  little  interval  of  peace  ere  this  true  friend,  "  Old  Philips," 
was  himself  called  to  his  rest — a  good  and  faithful  servant, 
who  since  his  own  baptism  in  1830  had  never  ceased 
working  diligently  and  successfully  for  the  conversion  of 
others. 

Remembering  all  the  prayers  that  were  offered  sixty 
years  ago  on  behalf  of  that  promising  school-boy,  one  cannot 
but  think  how  apt  is  the  illustration  of  the  husbandman 
who  "  with  long  patience  "  waits  for  the  precious  fruit. 

The  aim  of  the  Society  is  to  establish  in  every  village  a 
school  with  an  able  teacher,  who,  while  fulfilling  all  require- 
ments of  the  Government  code  of  education,  shall  make  the 
religious  instruction  of  the  children  his  primary  care.  To 
provide  such  Christian  teachers,  and  also  local  preachers 
to  keep  up  a  constant  series  of  services  for  the  heathen 
in  all  the  villages,  the  Wesleyan  Mission  has  established  at 
Jaffna  a  Training  Institute  for  male  teachers,  which  shall 
supply  native  agents  for  the  building  up  of  a  healthy 
native  Church  in  the  Tamil  districts. 

To  those  who  have  noted  how  sure  a  test  of  vitality  in 
any  branch  of  the  Church  is  its  recognition  of  the  duty  of 
winning  others,  it  is  especially  interesting  to  note  that  the 
Native  Wesleyan  congregations  at  Jaffna  and  Batiicaloa 
(having  for  many  years  entirely  supported  their  own 
pastors)  have  now  established  among  themselves  societies 
which  send  out  catechists  to  preach  in  certain  jungle- 
villages.     These  are  maintained  by  funds  locally  subscribed 


384  TIIK    TUG    OF    WAR. 

by  the  native  Christians  as  tliank-offerings  for  having  them- 
selves been  called  out  of  heathen  darkness. 

The  Wesleyan  Church  at  Jaffna  also  sends  Tamil  minis- 
ters to  Colombo  and  its  neighbourhood  to  minister  to  their 
countrymen  who  have  migrated  thither. 

For  the  southern  districts,  namely,  Negombo,  Colombo, 
Kandy,  Galle,  and  Matara,  the  native  ministers  are,  of  course, 
either  Singhalese  or  Burghers.  They  are  said  to  be  not  only 
eminently  good  men,  but  in  many  cases  so  well  versed  in 
Buddhistic  learning  as  to  prove  more  than  a  match  for  such 
priests  as  have  sought  to  draw  them  into  controversy.  As 
an  instance  of  the  excellent  work  done  by  some  of  these 
men,  I  may  refer  to  that  of  one  now  gone  to  his  rest — the 
Eev.  Peter  De  Zylva,  a  Singhalese  bearing  a  Portuguese 
name.  He  was  appointed  to  begin  work  in  the  district  of 
Moratuwa  Mulla  (commonly  called  Morottoo,  which  lies  be- 
tween Colombo  and  Kalutara),  as  being  a  part  of  the  country 
notorious  for  its  ignorance  and  the  prevalence  of  devil- 
worship.  Here  he  commenced  visiting  from  house  to  house 
and  conversing  in  the  bazaars  with  all  who  would  speak  with 
him,  but  many  months  elapsed  ere  he  was  rewarded  by  any 
symptom  of  success.  At  length,  however,  his  words,  ex- 
emplified by  his  own  good  life,  began  to  take  effect,  and  at 
the  end  of  twenty  years  he  had  the  joy  of  knowing  that,  out 
of  a  population  of  about  4700, 600  of  the  villagers  had  become 
faithful  followers  of  his  Lord. 

One  of  his  earliest  converts  was  the  Kapurala  or  priest  of 
a  devil-temple,  close  to  which  he  had  established  a  preach- 
ing-station. Without  leaving  his  temple,  the  old  man  could 
not  choose  but  hear  the  hymns  and  prayers  and  preaching 
which  began  so  strangely  to  influence  those  who  had  hitherto 
been  his  own  followers.    Ere  Ions:  he  himself  was  convinced 


EARNEST    WOPtKERS.  385 

that  He  of  whom  De  Zylva  preached  was  a  better  Master 
than  his  cruel  devil-spmts ;  so  locking  the  temple,  which 
was  his  own  property,  he  presented  the  key  to  the  Christian 
teacher,  and  bade  him  do  as  he  saw  fit  with  all  the  poor 
idols,  for  that  thenceforth  he  would  worship  only  the  Saviour, 
of  whom  he  had  now  heard.  And  the  old  priest  proved 
a  faithful  and  an  earnest  helper. 

The  good  work  thus  begun  has  continued  to  prosper,  the 
converts  proving  their  faith  by  the  self-denying  liberality  of 
their  alms.  They  now  support  two  Singhalese  pastors,  and 
have  built  chapels  and  mission-houses.  One  of  the  former, 
which  was  recently  opened,  is  a  large  substantial  building, 
erected  from  a  native  design  under  native  superintendence. 
All  labour  for  tlie  roof  and  windows  was  contributed  gratui- 
tously, a  hundred  carpenters  (not  all  Wesleyan  converts)  each 
freely  giving  a  week's  work  ;  they  commenced  on  Monday 
morning,  and  finished  on  Saturday  night,  the  Christian  women 
of  the  district  bringing  gifts  of  food  for  all  the  workmen. 

Although  such  purely  voluntary  work  as  this  is  probably 
exceptional,  the  members  of  this  Mission  have  found  the 
people  so  wonderfully  ready  to  afford  help  in  every  village 
where  a  school  or  chapel  has  been  erected,  that  the  Mission 
has  rarely  borne  more  than  half  the  cost  of  the  building. 
For  instance,  in  the  Port  Pedro  district,  near  Jaffna,  several 
handsome  school-chapels  have  been  erected  almost  entirely 
through  the  liberality  of  natives  who  still  bore  on  their  fore- 
heads the  symbolic  marks  of  the  Hindoo  gods,  and  who  not 
only  granted  the  sites,  but  also  presented  all  the  palmyra- 
palm  trees  for  rafters,  the  plaited  palm-leaves  for  the  thatch, 
and  handsome  gifts  in  money.  Of  course,  in  such  cases  it 
may  be  assumed  that  the  educational  advantages  thus  secured 
outweigh  their  antagonism  to  the  teacher's  creed.      IV'sides, 

VOL.  II.  2  B 


',]S6  THE   TUG    OF    WAR. 

ill  many  cases  the  assistant-teachers  are  heathens,  and  conse- 
quently the  majority  of  the  pupils  continue  to  worship  the 
Tamil  gods. 

With  regai'd  to  Wesleyan  educational  work  in  the  Southern 
Province,  there  are  two  important  training  colleges,  namely, 
the  liiclimond  College  at  Galle,  and  the  Wesley  College  at 
Colombo,  where  there  is  also  a  high-school  for  girls,  as 
well  as  one  for  boys.  An  industrial  school  for  girls  has 
recently  been  established  at  Kandy,  where  the  daughters  of 
poor  parents  are  instructed  in  sewing,  knitting,  and  biscuit- 
making.      Badulla  also  has  an  excellent  school  for  girls. 

At  Colombo  an  industrial  home  for  destitute  boys  and 
girls  supplies  willing  workers  for  the  cotton-spinning  mills. 
In  the  same  city  the  Mission  owns  a  valuable  printing  estab- 
lishment. It  has  also  established  a  mission  to  seamen,  which 
provides  for  visiting  the  ships  in  harbour  and  inviting  the 
sailors  to  special  Sunday  services.  Comparatively  few,  how- 
ever, are  able  to  come  ashore,  as  merchant  vessels  in  harbour 
recognise  no  day  of  rest,  and  the  hot,  noisy  toil  of  discharging 
and  receiving  cargo  goes  on  night  and  day  without  intermis- 
sion, Sunday  and  week-day  alike.^ 

The  workers  in  this  Mission  have  latterly  been  very  sorely 
hampered  by  pecuniary  troubles,  serious  and  repeated  reduc- 
tions in  the  grants  from  headquarters  in  England  having  put 
them  to  great  straits  in  order  to  find  the  means  of  subsistence 
for  the  native  agents ;  for,  apart  from  the  grief  of  being 
compelled  to  abandon  the  half-cultivated  mission-fields,  such 
retrenchment  would  necessarily  imply  casting  into  destitution 

'  In  the  busy  harbour  of  Hong-Kong  Sunday  labour  is  now  reduced  to  the 
minimum  by  the  strictly-enforced  requirement  for  a  special  license  at  ver^- 
high  rates  for  all  Sunday-work.  Thus  sailors  and  officers  may  enjoy  the  excep- 
tional privilege  of  a  Sunday  at  rest.  AVhat  a  boon  similar  harbour  regulations 
would  prove  in  other  ports  ! 


THE    WESLiiJYAN    MISSION.  387 

men  who  had  served  the  Mission  faithfully.  Of  course  this 
lack  of  funds  has  seriously  hindered  extension,  the  Mission 
having  been  compelled  to  refuse  the  services  of  various  pro- 
mising young  men,  who  wished  to  enter  the  native  ministry. 

This  is  the  more  to  be  regretted  as  the  Wesleyans  have 
but  recently  commenced  a  work  which  promises  immense 
success  if  only  the  labourers  were  forthcoming,  namely, 
that  in  the  hitherto  uncared-for  province  of  Uva,  where, 
as  I  have  already  mentioned,^  the  people  of  about  800 
villages  are  sunk  in  the  most  degrading  ignorance  and  super- 
stition. 

The  Eev.  Samuel  Langdon,  chairman  of  the  Wesleyan 
Society  in  Ceylon,  writes  from  his  "  Happy  Valley  Mis- 
sion "  that  he  has  not  a  tenth  of  the  men  or  the  funds 
necessary  to  do  justice  to  the  work  in  that  province.  Could 
Christian  schools  be  at  once  established  in  all  those  vil- 
lages, a  very  great  step  would  be  gained.  Otherwise,  under 
the  energetic  leading  of  English  Theosophists,  Buddhist 
schools  will  be  opened  by  teachers  trained  in  Government 
schools,  and  will  secure  the  Government  grant.  It  will 
then  be  far  more  difficult  to  secure  a  footing  in  this  now 
vacant  field. 

The  Wesleyan  Mission  in  Ceylon  to  all  nationalities  at 
present  numbers  seventeen  European  clergy,  with  about 
200  native  assistants  of  all  sorts.  The  total  number 
of  Church  members  does  not  exceed  4000,  but  the  regular 
attendance  at  school  and  public  worship  is  about  20,000. 

There  is  one  detail  of  progress  which  I  must  not  omit, 
(])elieving  as  we  do  that  the  truest  evidence  of  life  in  any 
branch  of  the  Christian  Church  is  its  readiness  to  seek 
extension  by  undertaking  mission  work),  and  that  is,  that  in 


388  THE   TUO    OF    WAR. 

the  autuiiin  of  1887  the  Wesleyau  Church  in  Ceylon  com- 
menced a  mission  to  Upper  Burmah,  which  by  its  annexa- 
tion to  Britain  in  the  previous  year  was  for  the  first  time 
practically  open  to  such  effort.  Two  European  missionaries, 
accompanied  by  two  young  Singhalese,  went  to  begin  work 
among  the  Buddhists  of  Mandalay,  with  its  5000  priests. 
Truly  a  tiny  band  to  attack  so  strong  a  foe ! 

Tliey  landed  without  one  friend  to  welcome  them,  and 
totally  ignorant  of  the  language;  but  they  immediately 
secured  three  advantageous  sites  for  mission-stations,  with 
ample  space  for  extension.  So  earnestly  did  they  commence 
the  study  of  the  language,  that  very  soon  they  were  able  to 
address  the  people  in  their  own  tongue,  and  found  that  the 
totally  new  idea  of  God  as  our  ever-present  loving  Father 
soon  attracted  attentive  hearers.  They  illustrate  their 
indoor  teaching  by  good  magic-lantern  views,  all  of  Scrip- 
ture scenes,  so  that  the  truth  may  reach  the  mind  by  eye 
and  ear  simultaneously. 

The  beginning  made  by  the  two  young  Singhalese  has 
been  so  satisfactory,  that  it  is  greatly  hoped  that  others, 
both  men  and  women,  themselves  converts  from  Buddhism, 
will  volunteer  for  the  work,  and  that  England  and  Australia 
will  furnish  the  requisite  funds  for  their  support. 


Note. — I  have  often  been  struck  by  the  manner  in  which,  on  their 
return  to  Englanil,  some  men  who  have  lived  in  various  countries  with- 
out taking  any  personal  interest  in  Christian  work,  authoritatively 
decry  the  practical  results,  and  even  the  very  efforts,  of  those  who  are 
devoting  their  lives  to  mission  work. 

Such  an  one  had  been  for  some  time  indulging  in  this  strain  about 
a  district  where  he  had  been  stationed  for  a  considerable  period,  and 
where  he  declared  "  the  missionaries  did  nothing."     Presently  a  Bishop 


MISSIONARY    DETRACTION.  389 

wlio  oveiheard  him  came  forward,  and  very  gently  asked  liim  liow 
long  he  had  been  resident  in  his  present  quarters  in  one  of  our  Mid- 
land cities?  "About  two  years,"  was  the  reply.  "Ah,  then,"  said  the 
Bishop,  "I  shall  be  so  very  glad  to  have  your  unbiassed  opinion  of  the 
working  of  the  Young  Men's  Institute  there.  You  never  heard  of  it? 
Dear  me,  I  wonder  at  that ;  it  is  such  a  very  wide-spreading  organisa- 
tion. I  hope  you  like  the  system  of  our  Schools,  and  especially  of  our 
Industrial  and  Night  Schools,  where  so  many  rough  lads  and  wild 
hoydens  are  transformed  into  comparatively  respectable  members  of 
society  ? " 

Once  more  the  "  accuser  of  the  brethren  "  had  to  confess  his  ignorance, 
and  his  interrogator  continued  :  '•  Well,  what  do  you  think  of  the 
system  of  our  Working-Men's  Provident  Institution  ?  of  our  Free 
Hospital  ?  of  our  Orphanage  and  Asylum  ?  of  our  Night  Refuge  ?  of 
our  Ragged  Church,  crowded  with  poor  tattered  creatures  who  never 
show  in  our  streets  ?  of  our  Band  of  Hope  and  our  Home  for  Strangers  ? 
And  what  is  your  personal  impression  of  the  workers  in  our  Home 
Mission?"  Of  course  there  was  but  one  rejjly  to  all  these  questions. 
Then  said  the  Bishop,  "Do  you  not  think  that  possibly  it  may  have 
been  the  same  at Station  in  India  ? " 


390 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

CHRISTIAN    WORK    IN    CEYLON. 

Salvation  Army — Work  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
— Work  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society — Cyclone  in  1884 — Work 
in  Pallai  and  the  Wannie — Converts  from  Hindooism — ^Tamil  Coolie 
Mission — Christian  lyrics  —  Kandyan  itinerancy — Converts  from 
Buddhism — Mission  at  Cotta — Trinity  College,  Kandy — Summary. 

However  deeply  we  sympathise  with  the  efforts  of  "  all 
who  love  our  Lord  in  sincerity,"  we  cannot  but  regret  that, 
considering  the  number  of  agencies  ^  already  at  work  in  this 
Isle  (where  Christian  growth  has  been  so  cruelly  impeded 
by  the  jealousies  of  successive  gardeners),  the  Salvation  Army 
should  have  introduced  a  fresh  element  of  confusion  by 
selecting  for  their  campaign,  not  purely  heathen  villages, 
but  several  in  which  much  good  work  had  already  been 
done.  Still  more  unfortunately,  a  marked  characteristic  of 
some  of  their  leaders  has  been  such  violent  antagonism  to 
other  Christian  denominations,  that  one  who  has  hitherto 
been  a  subscriber  to  the  funds  of  the  Army  has  recently 
declared  their  position  in  Ceylon  to  be  that  of  persecutors 
and  hinderers  of  Christian  workers. 

'  I  regret  that  lack  of  space  compels  me  to  omit  all  details  of  the  Presby- 
terian and  Baptist  Missions.  The  latter  numbers  about  6000  adherents,  of 
whom  550  are  commuuicants.  The  former  has  2500  adherents,  of  whom  about 
lOCO  are  communicants. 


ECCLESIASTICAL    DIVISIONS.  391 

Sad  as  such  dissensions  must  ever  be,  they  are  tenfold 
more  distressing  in  presence  of  those  whom  we  would  fain 
win  from  the  worship  of  idols  and  sacred  cattle  and  the 
reverent  use  of  cow-dung,  and  who  very  justly  think  that 
Christians  should  at  least  agree  amongst  themselves  before 
they  try  to  teach  otliers. 

For  the  same  reason  it  is  deeply  to  be  regretted  that 
even  witliin  the  fold  of  the  Church  of  England  the  converts 
should  have  been  perplexed  by  "  High  Church  "  and  "  Low 
(,'hurch "  questions,  resulting  for  a  while  in  serious  diffi- 
culties. These  happily  have  in  a  great  measure  subsided, 
and  though  it  is  certain  that  this  division  of  the  house 
against  itself  expedited  the  disestablishment  of  the  Anglican 
Church  from  its  position  as  the  Established  Churcli  of  the 
Isle,  there  is  good  reason  to  hope  that  in  this,  as  in  other 
matters,  apparent  evil  has  been  overruled  for  good,  the  neces- 
sity for  united  action  having  led  to  a  more  perfect  fusion-  of 
the  interests  of  all  members  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and 
to  such  resolute  effort  to  meet  the  consequent  pecuniary 
difficulties,  that  there  is  now  little  doubt  that  when  the  last 
props  of  State  support  are  removed,  the  Episcopal  Church 
of  Ceylon  will  be  found  stronger  and  healthier  than  in  her 
previous  condition.  Already  she  has  her  own  Synod,  her 
own  constitution,  and  is  generally  well  afloat. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  she  has  thus  been  compelled  to 
take  up  the  self-same  work  which  she  has  for  many  years 
been  urging  the  Native  Church  to  undertake,  namely,  not 
only  the  entire  support  of  its  own  institutions,  but  also  the 
duty  of  contributing  the  needful  funds  for  sending  teachers 
to  its  heathen  countrymen. 

So  since  the  30th  June  188G  all  State  aid  has  been  with- 
drawn, with  the  exception  of  the  stipends  of  such  Govern- 


392  CHRISTIAN   WORK    IN    f'EYLON. 

raent  chaplains,  Episcopal  and  Presbyterian,  as  were  ap- 
pointed prior  to  1st  July  1881,  such  aid,  of  course,  ceasing 
with  the  individual  lives. 

The  total  number  of  clergy  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  diocese  of  Colombo  (in  other  words,  in  Ceylon)  is  now 
seventy-one.  Of  these,  thirty-four  (i.e.,  eighteen  European 
and  sixteen  native)  are  in  the  service  of  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society,  and  fifteen  (including  nine  natives)  in  that 
of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel.  The 
native  clergy  are  Singhalese,  Tamil,  and  Burgher ;  some 
are  half-Burgher,  half-Singhalese. 

Let  us  briefly  glance  at  the  work  of  the  two  great 
Societies  whose  representatives  have  striven  so  earnestly  to 
build  up  this  Church. 

The  Church  Missionary  Society  began  work  here  in 
1818.  The  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel, 
generally  known  as  the  S.  P.  G.,  followed  suit  in  1840. 

The  S.  P.  G.  has  from  the  beginning  imported  very  few 
European  clergy.  It  has  rather  aimed  at  assisting  the 
Government  chaplains  (whose  recognised  official  duty  was 
simply  to  minister  to  such  as  were  already  Christians),  and 
by  enabling  them  to  extend  their  sphere  among  the  sur- 
rounding heathen,  give  a  missionary  character  to  their  work 
also. 

In  1845  the  Isle,  which  had  previously  been  included  in 
the  See  of  Madras,  was  made  a  separate  diocese,  and  Dr. 
Chapman  was  consecrated  first  Bishop  of  Colombo.  By  his 
exertions  and  liberal  gifts,  aided  by  the  S.  P.  G.,  St.  Thomas 
College  at  Colombo  was  founded  and  endowed  with  a  special 
view  to  training  native  clergy  and  schoolmasters. 

Here  English,  Singhalese,  and  Tamil  lads  receive  most 
careful  religious  teaching,  combined  with  such  high  secular 


ORPHANAGE    AT    BUOXA VISTA.  393 

education  as  may  fit  them  for  any  profession  ;  but  the  Col- 
lege maintains  its  original  missionary  character,  inasmuch  as 
it  furnishes  almost  all  the  native  clergy  in  the  employment 
of  the  Society,  and  also  supplies  the  ever-increasing  demand 
for  schoolmasters.^ 

A  high-class  school  for  girls  has  for  some  years  occupied 
a  pleasant  bungalow  close  to  the  Cathedral,  and  the  Society 
has  also  established  a  female  boarding-school  at  Matara, 
which  is  a  very  important  centre  of  mission- work ;  the 
attendance  at  the  various  schools  being  upwards  of  1100. 

A  very  interesting  S.  P.  G.  work  is  the  large  orphanage 
of  Buonavista,  near  Galle,  of  which  I  have  already  spoken." 
It  supplies  Christian  teachers,  both  male  and  female,  for  the 
surrounding  village  schools.  About  one-sixth  of  the  chil- 
dren attending  these  are  Christians,  and  a  much  larger  pro- 
portion are  removed  by  their  relations  so  soon  as  they  evince 
a  strong  bias  in  favour  of  Christianity.  Then  Buddhist 
priests  are  called  in,  and  a  period  of  home  persecution  en- 
sues, which,  however,  rarely  succeeds  in  extinguishing  the 
light  thus  early  kindled. 

Apart  from  these  centres,  a  quiet  work  is  progressing  in 
many  places,  such  as  Badulla,  and  several  of  the  neighbour- 
ing villages,  where  a  special  effort  is  now  being  made  for 
the  extension  of  mission-work  in  the  hitherto  neglected 
province  of  Uva.  About  400  children  have  been  gathered 
into  the  Anglican  schools  in  this  district. 

To  return  to  the  earliest  efforts  on  behalf  of  Ceylon  by 
the  Church  Missionary  Society.  Between  1818  and  1821 
work  was  commenced  at  four  points,  which  have  ever  since 
been  important  centres.     These  were  Jaffna,  in  the  extreme 

'  For  details  of  this  college  see  cluii)ter  ii. 
-  See  p.  175. 


394  CHRISTIAN    WORK    IN    CP:YL0N. 

north  ;  Kancly,  in  the  centre  of  the  Isle ;  Cotta,  near  Col- 
ombo, and  Baddigaraa,  in  the  extreme  south. 

In  the  first  instance,  the  Kev.  Joseph  Knight  was  sent 
to  commence  work  at  Jaffna.  Finding  the  Americans  and 
Wesleyans  already  in  the  field,  he  established  himself  at 
Nellore,  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood.  There  six  years 
later  he  was  joined  by  the  Rev.  W.  Adley,  and  together 
they  studied,  and  taught,  and  preached ;  but  seven  more 
3^ears  of  patient  work  elapsed  ere  their  hearts  were  cheered 
bv  makinof  a  sinofle  convert. 

At  length,  in  1830,  Mr.  Adley's  Tamil  horse-keeper  re- 
nounced idolatry  and  sought  baptism,  and  ere  that  year 
closed  a  little  band  of  ten  Christians  formed  the  nucleus  of 
the  future  Church.  One  of  these,  named  Matthew  Philips, 
who  had  been  working  with  Mr.  Knight  as  his  pundit  ever 
since  his  arrival  in  the  Isle,  became  the  first  catechist,  and 
from  that  day  till  the  hour  of  his  death  at  Christmas  1884 
(when  he  had  completed  his  ninetieth  year),  he  proved  a 
zealous  and  eloquent  preacher  and  most  devoted  Christian. 

Such  was  the  story  of  this  Mission  for  the  first  twelve 
years.  Ten  more  elapsed,  and  the  Church  members  had 
increased  to  twenty-five,  but  as  yet  did  not  include  a  single 
woman.  Ten  years  later  the  congregation  at  Nellore  had 
increased  to  eighty,  a  new  station  was  opened  at  Kopay  in 
the  immediate  neighbourhood,  and  an  old  Portuguese  church 
at  Chuudicully,  also  in  the  neighbourhood,  was  made  over 
to  the  Mission,  together  with  its  congregation  of  Protestant 
Burghers.  By  degrees  other  stations  have  been  included, 
and  a  large  number  of  schools  both  for  boys  and  girls  have 
been  established,  and  in  these  all  the  teachers  are  Chris- 
tians ;  and  thus  the  tree  whose  early  growth  was  so  slow  has 
fairly  taken  root.      A  very  important  detail   was  the  com- 


THE    DISTRICT    OF    JAFFNA.  395 

raencernent  in  1842  of  a  girl's  boarding-school  at  Nellore. 
Here  about  270  girls  have  received  careful  training,  and  many 
have  become  wives  of  the  native  clergy  and  school-masters. 

The  Jaffna  peninsula  is  the  extreme  north-west  corner  of 
Ceylon,  a  dead  level,  palm-clad  plain,  twenty  miles  wide  by 
thirty-six  in  length.  A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  better 
than  pages  of  description  how  strangely  the  sea  has  inter- 
sected the  land  between  this  plain  and  the  main  Isle,  form- 
ing truly  labyrinthine  lagoons. 

In  October  and  December  1884  this  district  was  devas- 
tated by  terrible  cyclones,  which,  following  on  a  period  of 
prolonged  drought  and  short  crops,  proved  terribly  trying 
to  the  people.  The  first  of  these  appalling  tempests  was 
heralded  by  a  pale-green  sunset  sky,  flushing  blood-red  on 
the  western  horizon.  It  resulted  in  tlie  total  destruction  of 
60,000  cocoa-nut,  palmyra,  and  areca  palms,  and  about  7000 
other  valuable  trees,  chiefly  fruit-trees.  On  the  morning 
after  the  cyclone  the  peninsula  resembled  a  newly-felled 
jungle,  and  even  the  streets  were  blocked  by  fallen  trees, 
including  about  a  hundred  of  the  beautiful  yellow  suriyas,^ 
torn  up  by  the  roots.  About  120,000  plantain  and  banana 
bushes  were  ruined.  Even  the  trees  that  survived  were 
stripped  of  foliage  and  appeared  as  if  scorched  by  fire. 
Fourteen  thousand  head  of  cattle,  sheep,  goats,  and  buffaloes 
were  killed,  as  were  also  twenty-eight  human  beings.  Tlmu- 
sands  of  crows  w^ere  found  dead  with  their  wings  all  twisted. 

The  great  breakwater  which  protected  the  town,  the 
embankment,  and  sea-wall  were  alike  destroyed  ;  the  road 
skirting  the  sea  for  many  miles  was  washed  away,  as 
were  also  bridges  and  culverts,  and  thousands  of  houses 
of  the   poorest  sort  were  damaged.      Twenty-seven  vessels 

'  The.yicsia  i/ojiulnca,  formerly  called  hybiscus. 


396  CHRISTIAN    WORK    IN    GEYLON. 

are  known  to  liave  been  wrecked  ;  some  brigs  and  small 
schooners  were  carried  miles  inland,  and  the  town  was 
strewn  with  wreckage.  Small  craft  innumerable  perished, 
and  hundreds  of  fishing  and  cargo  boats  were  found  in 
gardens  and  fields,  while  some  were  left  in  the  streets  or  on 
the  half-ruinous  verandahs  of  houses !  Others,  which  were 
recognised  as  belonging  to  neighbouring  islands,  were  found 
washed  ashore. 

Equally  lamentable  was  the  destruction  of  the  rice-crops. 
In  the  October  storm  hundreds  of  acres  of  paddy-land,  which 
had  been  carefully  ploughed  and  manured,  and  were  all 
ready  for  sowing,  were  so  flooded  as  to  resemble  only  a  vast 
lake.  When  the  waters  subsided,  the  wretched  farmers  did 
their  best  to  repair  the  damage,  but  the  December  cyclone 
effectually  blasted  their  hopes.  Though  in  point  of  fury  it 
was  but  as  an  echo  of  the  first,  nevertheless  the  prevalence 
of  unseasonable  rain  destroyed  the  rice- crops  and  ruined  the 
gardens. 

A  curious  incident  of  the  cyclone  was  the  fall  of  the 
steeple  of  Kopay  Church,  which  was  blown  over,  and  in  its 
fall  exactly  filled  up  an  adjacent  well,  a  very  grave  loss  in 
that  region  of  droughts. 

For  a  considerable  period  after  this  the  poverty  of  the 
people  was  such  that  many  of  the  children  used  to  come  to 
school  half-famished,  and  for  some  time  attendance  was  seri- 
ously diminished. 

In  this  extremity  many  of  the  school-teachers  shared  their 
pittance  with  the  hungriest  of  their  flock,  but  the  suffering 
of  all  was  severe.  Of  course,  diminished  school  attendance 
involves  a  reduction  in  Government  grants  and  in  the 
salaries  of  the  teachers,  and  this  again  in  the  American 
Mission  reacts  on  the  modest  income  of  the  native  pastor, 


THE    NORTHERN    PROVINCE.  397 

which  is  partly  dependent  on  the  offerings  of  the  teachers, 
who,  it  seems,  are  in  the  habit  of  devoting  one- tenth  of  their 
salary  to  the  service  of  the  Church. 

About  twenty  years  ago  very  decisive  efforts  were  made 
by  the  missionaries  in  order  to  root  out  any  lingering  idea 
that  temporal  advantage  attached  to  the  profession  of  Chris- 
tianity. In  order  still  more  strongly  to  counteract  such 
an  impression,  the  native  Christians,  were  urged  so  far  as 
lay  in  their  power,  not  only  to  imdertake  the  support  of 
their  own  institutions,  but  also  to  contribute  the  needful 
funds  for  sending  teachers  to  their  heathen  brethren.  The 
result  of  this  movement  has  been  that  whilst  a  limited 
number  of  mere  professors  relapsed  into  heathenism,  the 
majority  have  become  very  much  more  decided  and  zealous, 
and  the  native  Church  has  become  in  every  respect  healthier 
and  stronger. 

This  has  notably  been  the  case  in  the  Northern  Pro- 
vince (of  which  Jaffna  is  the  capital),  where  the  effects  of 
mission-work  on  Hindooism  present  a  striking  contrast  to 
the  results  effected  in  the  south  of  the  Isle,  where  only, 
as  it  were,  the  fringe  of  Buddhism  has  as  yet  been  touched. 
And  yet  those  most  practically  acquainted  with  the  work 
say  that  even  in  North  Ceylon  "  heathenism  is  still  so 
gross  and  rampant  that  mission  agencies  can  hardly  count 
the  battle  there  to  be  much  more  than  begun."  But  those 
who  are  Christians  are  in  real  earnest ;  and  so,  notwith- 
standing the  poverty  of  the  people,  a  Native  Missionary 
Association  was  formed  in  the  autumn  of  1883,  wliich 
now  supports  several  native  teachers  to  assist  in  the  work 
commenced  in  1862  by  the  Church  Missionary  Society  in 
two  of  the  dreariest  and  hitherto  most  neglected  districts 
of  the  Isle,  namely,  the  Waunie  and  Pallai. 


398  CHRISTIAN   WORK    IN    CEYLON. 

The  liitler  is  only  about  twenty  miles  from  Jaffna,  a 
sandy  tract  of  cocoa-nut  plantations  and  malarious  fever- 
haunted  jungle.  So  unhealthy  is  the  climate,  that  of  all 
the  mission  agents  who  have  been  sent  to  work  here,  not 
one  has  escaped  the  jungle-fever.  The  population  num- 
bers about  10,000  persons,  and  in  all  this  district  there 
is  but  one  medical  man,  whose  primary  duty  is  to  look 
after  the  planters.  As  for  the  people,  finding  small  benefit 
from  their  own  medicine-men,  and  assuming  all  manner  of 
sickness  and  trouble  to  be  the  visitation  of  offended  evil 
spirits,  they  at  once  call  in  diviners  and  devil-dancers,  who 
distract  the  poor  sufferer  with  their  truly  "  infernal "  noise, 
or  else  they  make  a  pilgrimage  to  some  favourite  devil- 
temple.  Anxious  relations  bring  the  patient  a  drink  of 
foul  water,  which  has  washed  the  feet  of  some  filthy  fakir, 
and  which  is  deemed  precious  medicine. '^ 

Here  indeed  is  a  fallow  field  awaiting  medical  missionaries 
endowed  with  such  love  for  their  suffering  fellow-creatures 
as  to  induce  them  to  face  existence  in  such  uninviting 
surroundings.  It  is,  however,  certain  that  men  born 
in  the  Isle  might  face  the  climate  with  less  danger  than 
Europeans,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Medical  College  at 
Colombo,  which  is  training  so  large  a  number  of  students, 
may  yield  the  right  men.  Certainly  no  other  form  of  mis- 
sion is  so  certain  to  go  straight  to  the  hearts  of  these 
poor  villagers,  and  it  is  satisfactory  to  learn  that  the  Jaffna 
Medical  Mission  has  now  been  commenced  in  real  earnest, 
and  is  to  be  under  control  of  the  directors  of  the  Jaffna 
College  (i.e.,  missionaries  and  native  Christians  in  con- 
nection with  the  three  IMissions). 

^  For  astounding  details  of  sorcery  and  criminal  preparation  of  charms  by 
a  native  doctor,  see  Emerson  Tennant's  "Ceylon,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  544-548. 


THE   WANNIE    DISTRICT.  399 

Dr.  Marston,  formerly  of  Mildmay  (London),  has  gone 
out  to  assume  charge  of  this  great  work,  but  as  yet  is  the 
only  missionary-physician  among  the  316,000  inhabitants 
of  the  Northern  Province  ;  and  what  that  means  may  be 
inferred  from  the  fact  that  within  two  months  in  1888- 
1889  no  less  than  2000  persons  died  in  Jaffna  durino-  an 
epidemic  of  malignant  fever,  and  such  visitations  of  fever, 
small-pox,  and  cholera  are  by  no  means  rare,  and  invariably 
carry  off  thousands,  who  perish  from  ignorance  of  the  sim- 
plest laws  of  medicine. 

Still  more  unattractive  than  Pallai  is  the  dreary  Wannie 
district,  a  name  chiefly  associated  with  that  of  the  virulent 
Wannie  fever,  which  not  only  incapacitates  its  victims  at 
the  time,  but  is  very  difficult  to  shake  off.  This  district 
comprises  an  area  of  about  14,000  square  miles,  and  its 
population,  which  averages  one  to  the  square  mile,  is 
scattered  along  the  sea-coast,  and  in  about  200  small 
villages  inland,  each  surrounded  by  swampy  rice- fields, 
the  irrigation  of  which  is  a  constant  care,  as  any  failure 
of  the  water-supply  from  the  village  tank  involves  famine. 
Most  of  these  villages  take  their  name  from  the  tank ; 
hence  the  frequent  termination  of  "  Colom,"  a  tank,  c.r/., 
Choendic-Colom,  Sundi-Colom. 

These  wretched  people  suffer  terribly  from  pleurisy  and 
from  a  swelling  in  the  glands  of  the  throat,  but  worst  of 
all  from  the  fearful  parangi  or  karayo,  that  horrible  dis- 
ease, somewhat  resembling  leprosy  in  its  most  loathsome 
form,  which  is  aggravated  by  bad  water  and  scanty  fare. 
Wherever  the  restoration  of  the  ancient  tanks  has  blessed 
a  district  with  a  renewed  water-supply  and  consequent 
abundant  crops,  then  this  awful  disease  in  a  great  measure 
disappears. 


400  CHRISTIAN    WORK    IN    CEYLON. 

Tlio  people  are  described  as  being  sunk  mentally,  morally, 
;in.l  ])liysirally  to  the  deepest  degradation.  Their  faith  is 
Iliiidooisni  of  the  very  lowest  type,  with  a  large  admixture 
of  devil-worship. 

In  this  unpromising  field,  agents  of  the  Church  Mission 
were  sent  to  commence  work  at  Mullaitivo,  a  town  on  the  east 
coast  about  seventy  miles  south  of  Jaffna,  and  at  Vavania- 
Vclan-Colora,  a  large  inland  village,  about  fifty  miles  from 
Mullaitivo.  From  these  centres,  evangelistic  work  of  all  sorts 
has  been  carried  to  the  surrounding  districts.  Here,  as  in  the 
Pallai  district,  schools  have  been  established,  and  several  of 
the  most  promising  converts  have  been  taken  to  the  Training 
Institution  at  Kopay,  that  they  may  eventually  return  as 
teachers  to  their  own  countrymen.  Thus  an  influence  has 
gradually  been  created,  and  prejudice  so  far  overcome  that 
now  no  opposition  is  offered  to  the  Christian  teachers; 
on  the  contrary,  their  message  is  heard  with  eager  atten- 
tion, and  in  several  cases  devil-dancers,  and  even  the 
priests  of  the  devil-temples,  have  been  among  the  earliest 
converts,  although  their  acceptance  of  Christ  involved  the 
sacrifice  of  their  sole  means  of  living — a  very  strong  test 
of  f\iith. 

Indeed,  if  the  offertory  by  which  this  Native  Mission  is 
supported  could  tell  the  story  of  self-denial  by  which  many 
of  its  small  sums  have  been  obtained,  no  better  proof  could 
be  given  of  how  thoroughly  in  earnest  these  poor  Christians 
are  ;  in  fact,  in  the  year  when  extreme  poverty  was  aggra- 
vated by  cyclones,  the  subscriptions,  so  far  from  diminish- 
ing, actually  increased.  Amongst  its  items  are  gifts  from 
several  young  men  who  have  been  trained  in  the  Institu- 
tion of  suras  equal  to  one-half,  one-third,  or  one-tweltth  of 
their  first  yeai-'s  salary  as  schoolmaster. 


NATIVE    CHRISTIAN    FORTITUDE.  401 

In  the  records  of  this  work  we  occasionally  obtain  a 
touching  glimpse  of  some  of  the  difficulties  which  beset 
the  Hindoo,  whose  reason  and  heart  alike  incline  to  the 
Christian  faith.  Foremost  among  these  are  the  claims  of 
deceased  relations,  and  the  supposed  cruelty  to  these  in- 
volved in  omitting  the  ancestral  offerings ;  for  as  the  dead 
of  the  last  three  generations  are  believed  to  be  entirely 
dependent  on  the  living  for  their  supplies  and  deliverance 
from  purgatory,  and  as  only  a  son  can  officiate  at  the 
funeral  rites  of  his  father,  it  is  evident  that  when,  by 
becoming  a  Christian,  a  man  incapacitates  himself  from 
fulfilling  these  obligations,  he  is  doing  a  grievous  wrong 
to  the  dead,  whom  he  is  most  bound  to  reverence.  Hence 
we  hear  of  the  "  great  fortitude  "  shown  by  a  convert  in 
refusing  to  take  his  part  in  the  heathen  rites  at  his  father's 
funeral,  and  we  know  what  tears,  entreaties,  and  persecu- 
tions he  must  have  withstood  from  all  the  women  of  the 
family.^ 

Moreover,  when  a  Christian  is  taken  ill,  his  sufferings 
are  often  greatly  aggravated  by  the  persistent  determina- 
tion of  his  relatives  to  perform  noisy  devil-ceremonies  on 
his  behalf,  and  also  by  the  fear  lest  after  his  death  they 
should  forcibly  burn  his  body  with  heathen  rites.  If  some 
other  members  of  the  family  are  Christians,  they  can 
generally  succeed  in  preventing  this  dishonour  to  the  dead, 
but  very  painful  scenes  sometimes  offend  this  solemn  pre- 
sence, as  in  the  case  of  a  young  school-mistress,  whose  death- 
bed was  a  striking  instance  of  calm  Christian  peace,  but 

^  In  "The  Himalayas  and  Indian  Plains"  I  have  given  full  details  o 
the  requirements  of  Ancestral  Worship  among  the  Hindoos.     See  pp.  187-190, 
also  574,  575.     And  in  "  Wanderings  in  Cliina  "  I  have  entered  minutely 
into  the  still  more  extraordinary  ramifications  of  the  same  worship  in  that 
vast  Empire. 

VOL.  II.  2  c 


402  CHRISTIAN    WORK    IN    CEYLON. 

no  sooner  had  her  spirit  passed  away,  than  her  heathen 
relatives  coniraenced  a  terrible  uproar  in  their  determination 
to  enforce  heathen  rites.  Her  father  and  brothers,  how- 
ever, being  also  Christians,  stood  firm  ;  whereupon  all  their 
kinsfolk  forsook  them,  refusing  to  have  anything  further 
to  do  with  them. 

Very  striking  is  the  manner  in  whicb  these  poor  caste- 
ridden  people  occasionally  apply  some  story  of  our  Lord's 
tenderness  and  humility,  as  contrasted  with  the  harsh 
arrogance  of  the  Brahmans.  Thus  a  poor  coolie  chanced 
to  hear  the  story  of  Christ's  visit  to  ZacchaBus.  Next  time 
he  visited  the  temple  and  presented  his  accustomed  offering, 
Jie  felt  how  different  was  the  action  of  the  proud  priest, 
who  bade  him  lay  his  money  on  the  ground,  and  who 
then  poured  water  over  it  and  washed  it  with  his  foot 
before  he  would  take  it  up.  So  he  went  back  to  the  house 
where  he  had  heard  those  good  words,  and  stood  outside 
listening  during  the  morning  prayers,  and  one  who  saw 
him,  bade  him  enter,  and  taught  him,  and  soon  that  man 
became  a  working  Christian.  Like  St.  Andrew,  he  "  first 
found  his  own  brother,  and  brought  him  to  Jesus ;  "  then 
he  persuaded  his  wife,  and  so  the  leaven  of  good  has 
spread. 

But  very  often  when  a  man  resolves  to  take  this  great 
step,  he  is  rejected  by  all  his  relations ;  his  own  wife  and 
eons  utterly  despise  him.  Yet  again  and  again  such  an 
one  has  persevered  in  prayer  for  their  conversion,  and 
althou^  years  may  elapse  ere  one  will  join  him,  sooner 
or  later  the  change  is  wrought,  and  the  patient  convert 
has  the  gladness  of  bringing  his  family  to  crave  Christian 
baptism.  Amongst  those  who  have  thus  been  added  to 
the  Church  was  one  of  the  most  notorious  devil-dancers  of 


POWER    OF    THE    OLD,    OLD    STORY.  403 

Pallai,  whose  delight  it  was  to  ridicule  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel.  Nevertheless,  that  he  might  be  the  better  able 
to  cavil,  he  bought  a  Bible  and  began  reading  it,  with  the 
oft-told  result.  Light  entered  into  his  heart  so  fully,  that 
not  all  the  prayers  and  tears  of  his  kinsfolk  could  shake 
his  new-born  faith  ;  and  so  eager  did  he  now  become  to 
confess  Christ  in  presence  of  all  men,  that  those  who 
witnessed  his  baptism  begged  that  he  might  be  named  Paul 
Vayrakiam  (Paul  the  Zealous).  With  him  was  baptized 
another  young  man,  whose  conversion  was  due  to  the  efforts 
of  another  recent  convert  from  the  devil-dancers. 

For  in  these  fever-stricken  districts,  and  on  those  burning 
sandy  plains,  the  old,  old  story  comes  home  to  these  poor 
neglected  ones  with  just  the  same  love  and  power  that  it 
has  done  to  myriads  in  all  corners  of  the  earth  wheresoever 
this  Gospel  has  been  preached.  In  the  life  of  many  of  the 
converts  there  is  abundant  proof  of  their  having  fully 
realised  their  Saviour's  love,  and  of  their  living  in  the 
blessed  consciousness  of  His  abiding  presence ;  and  there 
is  just  the  same  earnest  longing  to  lead  others  to  a  per- 
sonal knowledge  of  the  only  source  of  light  and  life,  with 
apparently  less  of  that  shyness — perhaps  selfish  shyness — 
which  leads  our  more  reserved  Western  natures  to  shrink 
from  speech  on  the  subjects  which  we  recognise  as  most 
vital  to  ourselves,  and  yet  often  guard  as  jealously  as  though 
our  neighbour  had  no  concern  therein. 

Grand  enduring  work  has  been  done  by  many  such 
loving  disciples — work  known  only  to  their  Master — in  the 
gradual  upbuilding  of  Ilis  Church. 

I  must,  however,  turn  to  a  less  pleasant  topic,  to  show 
how  not  only  the  good  leaven  spreads,  but  also  the  evil ; 
for,  sad  to  say,  here,  as  in  Japan  and  other  countries,  the 


404.  CHRISTIAN   WORK    IN    CEYLON. 

bitter  leaven  of  infidel  teaching  is  working  with  pernicious 
effect,  and  the  writings  of  the  leading  "  free-thinkers "  and 
atheists  poison  the  minds  of  many  a  would-be-wise  young 
student.  So  the  preachers  of  the  Gospel  have  not  merely 
to  contend  with  the  systems  of  a  debased  Buddhism  or  Brah- 
manisra,  but  with  all  the  oft-repeated,  oft-refuted  difficulties 
and  objections  which  are  deemed  so  doubly  wise  because  they 
are  imported  from  Europe. 

For  instance,  one  of  the  chief  Hindoo  festivals  in  this 
district  is  annually  held  at  an  ancient  temple  near  Nellore, 
in  honour  of  Kandaswami,  the  youngest  son  of  the  god 
Siva.  The  festival  continues  for  twenty-five  days,  and  on 
the  tenth  day  the  idol  is  brought  forth  and  placed  on  a 
splendid  car,  and  so  drawn  triumphantly  in  sunwise  circuit 
round  the  temple.  The  most  fanatical  observances  of  olden 
days  are  now  prohibited,  and  here,  as  at  the  great  Juggernath 
Temple  of  India,  devotees  may  no  longer  throw  themselves 
beneath  the  wheels  of  the  car,  but  have  to  satisfy  their  zeal 
by  rolling  in  the  dust  in  its  wake.  This  is  done  by  hundreds 
of  the  vast  multitude  who  annually  assemble  from  all  parts 
of  the  country  in  very  earnest  pilgrimage. 

Such  a  gathering  affords  an  opportunity  of  sowing  good 
words  broadcast,  which  is  not  neglected  by  the  Christian 
teachers  who  mingle  freely  in  the  crowd,  and  do  what  they 
can  by  preaching  and  the  sale  and  distribution  of  books. 
Latterly  they  have  been  gladdened  by  hearing  comments 
on  the  good  which  Christianity  was  acknowledged  to  have 
effected  in  Jaffna,  and  some  were  heard  to  say  that  doubt- 
less forty  or  fifty  years  hence  all  the  population  will  have  be- 
come Christian,  But  though  many  listened  with  interest,  an 
organised  system  of  molestation  and  interruption  has  now 
been  set  on  foot  by  a  party  of  young  men,  who  go  about, 


THE    TAMIL    COOLIE    MISSION.  405 

not  to  defend  the  insulted  dignity  of  Kandaswami,  but  to 
distribute  pamphlets  and  tracts  compiled  by  themselves  from 
the  works  of  atheistic  Europeans. 

In  like  manner,  quite  the  most  serious  bar  to  the  accept- 
ance of  the  Gospel  by  Buddhists  is  the  energetic  teaching 
of  European  exponents  of  Theosophy  and  Esoteric  Buddhism. 

A  very  important  branch  of  Church  missionary  work 
amongst  the  Hindoo  population  of  Ceylon  is  that  known 
as  the  Tamil  Coolie  Mission,  which  has  for  its  object  the 
instruction  of  all  the  legion  of  immigrants  from  Malabar, 
who  come  generally  for  a  term  of  five  years  or  more,  chiefly 
to  labour  on  the  plantations,  and  do  all  the  hard  work  of 
the  Isle.  This  Mission  was  commenced  on  a  small  scale 
about  thirty  years  ago,  and  has  been  mainly  supported  by 
the  cofFee-planters,  who  raise  more  than  £1000  a  year  to 
maintain  catechists  and  schools, — a  clear  proof  of  their 
estimate  of  this  good  effort. 

Upwards  of  forty  native  agents  are  now  thus  employed ; 
but  so  numerous  are  the  estates,  that  each  catechist  has  to 
visit  from  forty  to  sixty,  and  so  can  only  go  to  each  about 
once  in  three  months,  which  does  not  allow  much  chance 
of  gaining  individual  influence  with  the  utterly  iguorant 
heathen. 

The  ]\Iission  is  superintended  by  three  European  and  two 
Tamil  clergymen,  whose  lives  are  spent  in  one  long  round 
of  difficult  hill-travelling,  over  an  area  so  vast,  that  on  an 
average  they  can  only  go  over  the  ground  once  iu  si.x 
months.  Their  district  is  about  as  large  as  Wales,  and 
much  more  mountainous ;  so  this  mission  may  well  be 
described  as  under-manned,  the  more  so  seeing  how  many 
plantations  lie  beyond  the  reach  of  any  English  service, 
save  on  these  rare  occasions. 


406  CHRISTIAN   WORK   IN   CEYLON. 

To  supply  even  this  scanty  spiritual  fare  involves  an  ex- 
haustinf^  life  of  ceaseless  locomotion.  Some  folk  in  England 
might  think  it  hard  work  to  be  up  and  out  every  morning 
by  5  A.M.  to  attend  the  muster  of  coolies,  and  preacli  to 
them  before  starting  on  a  four  or  five  hours'  walk,  beneath 
a  blazing  sun,  over  steep  hills  without  one  scrap  of  shade. 
Then  the  native  Christians  on  the  estate,  and  perhaps  some 
in  the  nearest  village,  must  be  visited,  and  candidates  for 
baptism  or  confirmation  examined  and  taught,  and  the 
catechist,  if  there  be  one,  must  be  cheered  by  a  talk  about 
his  work,  and  on  the  morrow  the  same  round  must  be  re- 
peated on  the  next  estate.  And  so  each  day  of  the  week 
repeats  itself  till  Sunday,  when  there  is  a  Tamil  service  for 
as  many  coolies  as  can  be  mustered,  and  English  service  for 
the  planters,  many  of  whom  come  a  very  long  way  to  be 
present. 

Small  chapels  are  indeed  scattered  at  wide  intervals  over 
the  mountain  districts  where  the  plantations  chiefly  lie,  and 
in  these,  two  of  the  Diocesan  clergy  minister  regularly,  and 
others  occasionally,  but  many  estates  are  so  remote  that 
they  are  only  visited  at  very  rare  intervals.  When  we  think 
of  the  multiplicity  of  church-going  luxuries  offered  for  our 
selection  in  this  country,  we  can  perhaps  realise  how  very 
much  neglected  we  should  feel — in  fact,  how  easily  we 
might  lose  the  mere  habit  of  Sunday  observance — were  our 
religious  privileges  limited  to  two  or  three  meetings  in  a 
coffee-store  or  a  drawing-room  in  the  course  of  a  year.  Cer- 
tainly it  does  seem  a  very  unequal  division  of  the  Church's 
workers  which  leaves  so  wide  a  field  with  such  limited  pas- 
toral care. 

Even  Sunday  does  not  necessarily  bring  rest  from  travel ; 
for  instance,  the  native  clergyman   (Tamil)   at  Pelmadulla 


ATTITUDE    OF    THE    PLANTERS.  407 

liolds  an  English  service  at  8  a.^l,  and  then  one  in  Tamil, 
after  which  he  either  travels  twelve  miles  to  hold  an  Eng- 
lish service  at  Ratnapura,  or  to  some  other  district.  But  in 
truth,  neither  clergy  nor  people  spare  themselves  in  this 
respect,  the  distance  which  some  of  these  people  walk  to  be 
present  at  a  service  being  almost  incredible  ;  as,  for  instance, 
at  Rackwane,  in  the  south,  to  which  some  of  the  congrega- 
tion were  in  the  habit  of  walking  fifteen  miles  every  Sun- 
day, till  a  Christian  conductor  undertook  to  hold  service  in 
one  of  the  coffee-stores.  (The  Principal  of  Trinity  College, 
Kandy,  mentions  that  one  of  his  late  pupils  travelled  130 
miles  in  order  to  be  present  at  the  early  morning  service  on 
New  Year's  Day.) 

As  a  matter  of  course,  the  work  of  this  Mission  is  greatly 
helped  or  impeded  by  the  attitude  of  the  authorities  on  each 
estate.  In  some  cases  the  planters  themselves,  or  their 
superintendents,  take  a  hearty  interest  in  its  progress,  and 
I  have  recently  heard  of  one  who,  being  present  at  the 
baptism  of  five  of  his  own  coolies,  addressed  them  in  their 
own  tongue  in  such  plain,  manly  words  as  they  were  not 
likely  to  forget,  especially  exhorting  them  so  to  live  that 
they  might  be  the  means  of  bringing  others  also  to  Jesus. 
That  speaker's  words  are  so  happily  illustrated  in  his  own 
life,  that  one  of  his  Singhalese  neighbours  expressed  a  devout 
hope  that  he  may  eventually  become  a  Buddha ! 

Happily,  within  the  last  few  years,  a  considerable  number 
of  the  planters  have  awakened  to  the  duty  and  privilege  of 
thus  exerting  a  strong  personal  influence  on  the  men  in 
their  employ,  while  on  other  estates  much  is  done  by  earnest 
Christian  Kanganis,  i.e.,  coolie  overseers,  who  supplement  the 
work  of  the  catechist  by  reading  the  service  on  intermediate 
Sundays,  or  in  some  cases  by  holding  prayer-meetings  (for 


408  CHRISTIAN    WORK    IN    CEYLON. 

many  catechists  have  charge  of  a  very  much  larger  district 
than  any  one  man  can  work  satisfactorily).  In  at  least  one 
district  the  habit  of  family  evening-prayer  is  now  general 
amongst  the  Christians,  though  to  assemble  in  the  morning 
is  impossible,  owing  to  the  early  hour  when  work  begins. 

On  the  other  hand,  where  the  Kangani  is  a  heathen  and 
antagonistic  to  the  Christians,  he  can  greatly  impede  the 
work  of  the  catechist  and  embitter  the  lives  of  the  converts. 
Thus  in  one  district,  where  till  recently  there  were  four 
Christian  Kanganis,  a  change  in  the  management  of  the 
estates  has  led  to  their  being  all  replaced  by  heathens — 
a  very  grievous  matter  for  the  little  band  of  converts  whose 
taskmasters  they  are. 

A  considerable  number  of  conversions  have  been  entirely 
due  to  the  influence  and  persuasion  of  Christian  fellow- 
coolies.  This  has  notably  been  the  case  in  Uda  Pussellawa, 
where,  about  twelve  years  ago,  a  Canarese  man  and  his  wife 
were  converted.  They  had  for  many  years  been  working  on 
Ceylon  estates,  and  probably  had  a  large  acquaintance  among 
their  fellows.  Every  evening  since  their  baptism,  when  the 
long  day's  work  is  done,  they  have  assembled  in  their  house 
as  many  as  they  could  collect  for  Bible-reading  and  prayer, 
and  it  is  mainly  due  to  this  eflfort  that  a  congregation  of 
upwards  of  a  hundred  persons  now  meet  for  worship  every 
Sunday  in  a  pretty  stone  church,  towards  the  building  of 
which  "  Isaac "  and  his  wife  contributed  the  first  hundred 
rupees.  The  congregation  prove  their  zeal  by  walking 
from  six  to  ten  miles  from  other  estates,  no  small  eflfort  on 
this  their  only  day  of  rest.  These  are  only  poor  coolies, 
but  somehow  I  fancy  that  in  the  Great  Hereafter  many  of 
us  who  now  daily  say  (I  doubt  if  we  as  often  really  pray 
that  oft-said  prayer)  Thy  Kingdom  come,  will  vainly  wish 


INFLUENCE    OF    CHRISTIAN    COOLIES.  409 

that  in  all  our  lives  we  had  done  as  much  to  prepare  the 
way  for  our  Lord's  coming  as  these  humble  folk  have 
done. 

Certainly  it  is  enough  to  make  us  all  think,  to  note  how 
often  a  few  words  of  Scripture  or  of  exhortation  have  so 
impressed  poor  ignorant  heathen  Tongans,  Fijians,  or  China- 
men, that  they  have  returned  to  their  own  villages  and 
endured  persecution  for  years  staunchly,  never  resting  till 
they  have  persuaded  others,  and  so  each  has  become  the 
nucleus  of  a  church  ;  whereas  we,  on  whom  all  teaching 
and  Christian  privileges  have  been  lavished  from  our  cradles, 
what  have  we  individually  ever  done  to  induce  one  from 
without  the  fold  to  enter  ? 

I  never  hear  the  story  of  Ebed-melech,  the  Ethiopian 
eunuch  (whom  so  many  white  men  would  contemptuously 
have  described  as  "  only  a  nigger,"  but  to  whom  alone  the 
prophet  was  bidden  to  convey  the  Divine  assurance  of 
safety  amid  all  the  horrors  of  the  capture  of  Jerusalem 
and  the  slaughter  of  all  the  princes  and  nobles  of  Judah  ^), 
without  a  thought  of  that  day  of  surprises,  when  so  many 
great  lords,  temporal  and  spiritual,  will  have  to  take  the 
lowest  places,  and  others  who  are  now  last  and  least  will 
find  themselves  first  and  greatest  in  The  Kingdom. 

In  another  case  recently  reported,  eighteen  persons  came 
forward  to  ask  for  baptism,  all  of  whom  had  been  very 
carefully  instructed  by  another  Christian  couple.  Thirteen 
of  these  had  walked  thirty  miles  through  a  continuous 
downpour  of  rain  to  present  themselves  to  the  clergyman 
on  his  visiting  the  district.  Of  course  all  candidates  are  sub- 
ject to  most  searching  examination  to  prove  their  sincerity, 
and  the  answer  of  one  suggested  how  truly  he  had  grasped 
^  Jer.  xxxviii.  7,  8  ;  and  Jcr.  xxxix.  6,  7,  and  16-18. 


410  CHRISTIAN    WORK    IN    CEYLON. 

the  principle  (if  the  new  life.  "  Doubtless,"  he  said,  "  some 
may  be  Christians  in  name  only,  but  such  have  only  joined 
Christianity  without  being  united  to  Christ." 

Of  course  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  a  permanent  influence 
over  these  coolies  is  greatly  enhanced  by  their  migatory 
habits,  which  often  take  them  from  one  district  to  another, 
or  back  to  India,  before  much  appreciable  good  has  been 
done.  Nevertheless,  some  of  the  workers  are  convinced 
that,  even  as  the  dawn  advances  to  high  noon — imperceptibly 
— so  the  Light  is  radiating  silently  but  surely,  and  though 
as  yet  only  about  fifteen  hundred  of  the  Tamil  coolies  now 
on  the  Isle  have  received  baptism,  a  considerable  number 
have  returned  as  Christians  to  their  own  country,  and  very 
many  listen  with  earnest  attention,  and  some  say  they  are 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel,  but  dare  not  face  the 
anger  of  their  relations  should  they  openly  embrace  Chris- 
tianity. It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  remarkable 
proof  of  their  goodwill  than  is  shown  by  the  generosity  with 
which  they  sometimes  contribute  to  purely  Christian  objects, 
as,  for  instance,  the  building  of  a  substantial  church  at 
Rackwane,  where  the  congregation  is  very  small  and  very 
poor,  and  about  three-fourths  of  the  requisite  sum  has  been 
given  by  heathen  overseers  and  coolies ! 

Among  what  I  may  call  "  insensible  influences  "  for  good 
are  some  exceedingly  popular  Christian  lyrics,  something 
in  the  style  of  "  The  old,  old  story,"  composed  by  a  Tamil 
poet.  They  are  Christian  stories  told  in  the  native  style 
of  poetry,  and  set  to  native  tunes,  which  find  great  favour 
with  the  people.  Many  of  the  converts  who  cannot  read 
know  these  by  heart,  and  their  companions,  attracted  by  the 
melody,  learn  them  also  ;  and  so  the  story  is  sung,  and  often 
well  sung,  by  those  who  as  yet  know  little  of  its  meaning. 


CHRISTIAN    LYRICS.  411 

Thus  one  whose  heart  is  in  his  Master's  work,  chanced  to  be 
travelling  by  coach  to  Kandj,  when  one  of  the  passengers 
commenced  singing  Hindoo  songs  so  cheerily  that  his  com- 
panions begged  him  to  continue.  One  at  least  of  his  hearers 
was  considerably  astonished  when  the  next  song  selected  was 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  these  lyrics,  "  Jesus  carrying 
His  Cross,"  a  text  which  furnished  the  subject  for  earnest 
words  to  an  attentive  audience  of  Hindoos  and  Buddhists. 
The  singer  said  he  had  learnt  the  lyric  from  hearing  it  sung 
by  a  Roman  Catholic  convert  in  a  distant  part  of  the  country. 

When  we  remember  that  in  the  Jaffna  peninsula  alone 
the  three  Missions  have  15,000  children  in  training,  all  of 
whom  are  taught  to  sing  sacred  stories,  it  is  evident  what 
a  far-reaching  agency  for  good  this  must  prove.  The 
schools  have  periodical  concerts,  when  all  the  relatives 
come  to  hear  and  admire,  and  the  children  and  Bible- 
women  teach  the  mothers,  who  like  to  sing  them  in  their 
own  homes,  so  that  they  are  gradually  replacing  the  very 
objectionable  mythological  songs  even  in  homes  which  are 
not  yet  altogether  Christian. 

To  those  who  have  not  noted  elsewhere  how  often  a 
mighty  tree  grows  from  a  tiny  seed,  the  feeble  first-fruits  of 
work  in  some  large  centres  of  heathenism  may  seem  almost 
contemptible.  Thus  in  the  town  of  Kurunegalla,  the  Tamil 
Christian  congregation  consists  of  three  very  poor  families ; 
one  is  that  of  a  fisherman,  another  of  a  man  who  climbs 
palm-trees  to  draw  "  toddy,"  while  the  third  householder 
is  a  road-coolie,  who  at  his  baptism  selected  the  name  of 
Zachariah,  his  wife  naturally  assuming  that  of  Elizabeth. 
The  latter  tends  a  flock  of  sheep — a  few  sheep  we  must 
assume,  since  at  night  she  folds  them  all  in  the  largest 
room  of  her  little  hut,  she  and  her  husband  contriving  to 


412  CHRISTIAN    WORK    IN    CEYLON. 

stow  themselves  away  in  the  other  room,  which  measures 
5  feet  by  6  feet !  Truly  a  tiny  flock,  both  pastoral  and 
spiritual,  but  as  regards  the  latter,  its  shepherd  is  satisfied 
that  it  will  erelong  prove  the  nucleus  of  an  ever-widening 
congregation. 

I  must  repeat  that  I  am  speaking  only  of  the  Tamil 
Christians  of  Kurunegalla,  the  Singhalese  and  Burgher  con- 
gregations being  of  course  quite  distinct.  Of  the  former, 
a  recently  acquired  member  is  a  native  headman  from  an 
outlying  village,  converted  through  the  instrumentality  of 
his  brother.  These  two  men,  being  the  only  Christians  in 
that  neighbourhood,  have  had  to  face  considerable  opposition  ; 
indeed,  before  his  baptism  this  young  man  had  given  very 
strong  proof  of  his  determination,  in  resolutely  refusing  to 
offer  incense  in  the  great  temple  at  Kandy,  where  he 
was  obliged  to  be  present  in  his  official  capacity,  his 
refusal  gave  great  offence  to  his  superiors.  To  those  who 
can  realise  the  scene  within  that  beautiful  temple — the 
crowd  of  devout  worshippers  bearing  their  offerings,  the 
gorgeously  dressed  headmen,  the  throng  of  yellow-robed 
priests  urging  the  recreant  to  compliance  with  this  simple 
ceremony — only  the  burning  of  a  little  incense — such  an 
incident  suggests  a  picture  of  wondrous  interest. 

Indeed,  in  all  Oriental  scenes  the  picturesque  element 
presents  itself  at  every  turn  in  a  manner  undreamt  of  by 
those  who  insensibly  illustrate  these  outlines  from  their 
own  Western  thoughts.  Thus  in  the  case  of  the  tiny  Tamil 
congregation  of  which  I  spoke  just  now,  the  reader  whose 
mind  sees  only  three  very  poor  English  families  would 
conjure  up  a  very  different  picture  from  the  little  group  of 
turbaned  brown  men  and  of  women  whose  brilliantly- 
coloured  drapery   is  worn    so  very   effectively,  and  whose 


THE    KANDYAN    ITINERARY.  413 

poverty  must  be  dire  indeed  if  it  forbids  the  display  of 
rings  and  bangles,  always  in  good  taste,  however  base  the 
metal.  Even  the  sheep  lying  in  the  shade  on  the  verandah 
of  that  humble  hut  are  quaint  lanky  animals  with  long 
drooping  ears,  very  much  more  attractive  to  the  artist  than 
those  approved  of  by  British  farmers. 

While  the  Tamil  Coolie  Mission  seeks  to  reach  the 
Hindoo  immigrants,  a  corresponding  organisation  known  as 
the  Kandyan  Itixeiiancy  works  over  nearly  the  same  area 
of  hill-country  in  the  three  central  provinces.  It  appeals 
especially  to  the  Singhalese  village  population,  supplying 
(to  the  best  of  its  ability)  Christian  schoolmasters  and 
catechists,  under  the  superintendence  of  two  European  and 
two  Singhalese  clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England. 

But  considering  over  what  a  vast  expanse  of  mountainous 
and  forest  country  these  four  men  must  travel  in  order 
occasionally  to  minister  to  their  widely-scattered  flock,  we 
can  well  believe  that  this  Mission  also  suffers  from  bein'» 

O 

"  under-manned."  Nevertheless  a  wide-spread  influence 
for  good  has  been  established ;  in  many  districts  a  spirit  of 
interest  and  inquiry  now  replaces  the  dull  apathy  of  sleepy 
Buddhism,  and  a  multitude  of  tiny  congregations  form  so 
many  little  spots  of  leaven  in  the  great  mass  of  heathenism. 
It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  paths  of  the  converts 
are  always  paths  of  peace,  for  even  the  non-persecuting 
Buddhists  contrive  to  make  life  very  unpleasant  to  relations 
who  venture  to  differ  from  them ;  young  converts  especially 
are  occasionally  removed  from  school  and  beaten  to  induce 
them  to  kneel  once  more  at  Buddhist  altars,  and  the  dread 
of  being  so  treated  prevents  many  from  expressing  their 
convictions.  For  instance,  two  youths  who  ventured  to  say 
they  wished  to  become  Christians  were  at  once  compelled 


411  CHRISTIAN   WORK    IN    CEYLON. 

by  their  parents  to  assume  the  yellow  robe  and  prepare  for 
the  Luddliist  priesthood. 

The  contemplative  life,  however,  sometimes  results  in  a 
more  absolute  conversion,  as  in  the  case  of  a  lad  who  had 
for  four  years  attended  the  mission-school  at  Baddigama, 
when  he  was  inveigled  away  by  the  priest  of  a  neighbouring 
village,  who  painted  in  glowing  colours  the  easy  life  and 
abundant  food  of  the  priesthood,  and  the  honour  and  homage 
he  would  receive  from  the  people  would  he  but  take  upon 
him  the  vows  of  Buddha.  The  influence  of  the  parents  was 
secured  by  the  promise  of  an  annual  gift  of  twelve  bags  of 
rice  from  the  temple.  So  the  lad  yielded,  and  was  duly 
shaven  and  invested  with  the  sacred  yellow  robes,  and  for 
three  years  he  continued  in  the  service  of  the  temple  with 
an  ever-reproachful  conscience. 

At  length  his  spiritual  conflict  was  evident  to  all  his  com- 
panions, and  every  means,  fair  and  foul,  was  tried  to  hold 
him.  fast.  Some  tried  bribes,  and  one  man  threatened  to 
stab  him  if  he  would  not  say  that  Buddha  and  the  priests 
were  the  most  high  refuge.  But  the  lad  gained  courage, 
and  throwing  off  the  yellow  robes,  he  returned  to  his  first 
teachers,  and  after  due  probation  was  baptized  and  con- 
firmed, and  is  now  a  communicant.  His  parents  were  pre- 
sent at  his  baptism,  and  there  seemed  every  reason  to  hope 
that  they  would  follow  his  example. 

In  various  parts  of  the  Isle  men  who  were  once  priests 
of  Buddha  have  likewise  found  the  True  Lisht,  and  are  now 
working  steadfastly  under  Christ's  banner. 

At  the  present  moment,  when  a  leaning  to  Buddhism  and 
its  twin-brother  Agnosticism,  has  become  a  sort  of  fashion 
in  England,  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  reasons  for  re- 
nouncing the  former  whi,ch  are  given    by  men   born  and 


SPIRITUAL   CONFLICT.  415 

bred  in  that  faith.  One  says  he  does  so  "  because  Buddha 
nowhere  says  a  word  about  the  Eternal  God  ;  all  things  in 
heaven  and  earth  declare  His  wisdom  and  power,  but  as 
concerns  loving,  obeying,  and  believing  in  Him,  Buddha  is 
dumb.  Hence  communion  with  God  in  prayer,  which  is 
the  very  life  of  the  soul,  is  absolutely  ignored,  since,  accord- 
ing to  this  teaching,  there  is  no  one  to  whom  prayer  can  be 
offered — no  one  to  hear  and  no  one  to  answer." 

An  old  man  about  seventy-five  years  of  age  said  that  all 
through  liis  long  life  he  has  been  seeking  rest.  He  wrote 
out  sacred  books,  he  gave  large  alms,  and  performed  long 
pilgrimages  to  Adam's  Peak  and  Anuradhapura  and  other 
holy  shrines,  hoping  thus  to  heap  up  merit ;  but  it  was  all 
to  no  purpose  till  at  last  Christ  came  to  him  (for  truly,  he 
says,  it  was  not  that  he  had  sought  Christ),  and  in  Him  he 
found  the  rest  he  craved.  The  old  man  was  one  of  a  con- 
gregation of  upwards  of  seventy  communicants  in  a  village 
where  a  few  years  ago  there  was  not  one  Christian. 

JSTow,  note  the  reply  of  a  young  convert,  who,  when  urged 
by  liis  father  to  return  to  his  ancestral  faith,  replied,  "  1 
cannot  go  back  to  Buddhism.  I  must  believe  that  there 
is  a  Creator  of  the  world.  I  need  forgiveness  of  sin,  and 
there  is  no  Saviour,  no  forgiveness  in  Buddhism.  There 
is  no  one  who  has  the  power  to  forgive,  therefore  every  one 
must  of  necessity  endure  all  the  consequences  of  his  sins. 
I  want  to  be  happy  after  death,  and  there  is  no  hope  in 
BuddhisTu — but  in  Christianity  I  find  all  these."  The 
latter  is  the  son  of  a  rigidly  Buddhist  family,  and  had  been 
brought  from  another  province  by  the  priest  at  Kurunegalla 
ou  purpose  to  teach  a  school  which  he  had  opened  in  oppo- 
sition to  that  of  the  Mission.  Tliis  young  man's  uncle  was 
sent  for  to  reason  with  him,  but  instead  of  reclaiming  the 


416  CHRISTIAN    WORK    IN    CEYLON. 

Avanderer,  he  confessed  the  validity  of  all  his  arguments, 
and  presented  himself  as  a  candidate  for  baptism. 

It  is  also  instructive  to  note  that  the  aforesaid  priest,  in 
urging  his  neighbours  to  withstand  the  teaching  of  "  those 
lying  fools  the  Christians,"  instead  of  himself  preaching 
pure  Buddhism,  recommends  the  villagers  to  join  the  Society 
of  Theosophists.  There  is,  unfortunately,  no  doubt  that 
Buddhism  has  received  a  real  impetus  from  the  example  of 
certain  foolish  Europeans,  who  (most  assuredly  lacking  any 
personal  knowledge  of  "  the  Master  "  whom  they  so  dis- 
honour) have  thrown  in  their  lot  with  the  teachers  of  so- 
called  Theosophy  and  Esoteric  Buddhism — systems  which 
those  who  understand  them  best,  classify  as  "  Bedlamite 
balderdash,"  "  blatant  humbug,"  and  "  impudent  imposture." 

I  would  shrink  from  quoting  such  expressions  regarding 
any  phase  of  true  Theosophy  or  "  Divine  knowledge,"  but 
the  leaders  of  this  society  in  Ceylon  (w^ell  aware  that  there 
could  be  no  fellowship  between  seekers  after  knowledge  of 
God  and  the  atheistic  system  of  Buddhism,  which  does  not 
acknowledge  any  God)  were  wise  in  their  generation,  and 
adopted  as  their  title  the  Paramawignanartha,  or  Supreme 
Knowledge  Society.  Consequently  it  embraces  whatever 
may  be  the  individual  ideal  of  highest  good,  whether  it  be 
how  best  to  enjoy  this  world,  and  how  to  get  on  in  it  and 
get  wealth,  or  how  best  to  attain  to  Xirvana  and  the  ex- 
tinction of  all  desire.^ 

^  Taking  Theosophy  even  at  its  best,  as  now  preached  in  Europe,  an  un- 
biassed student  of  its  teaching  writes:  "There  is  no  note  which  vibrates 
more  constantly  in  the  soul  of  every  true  man  than  the  prayer,  '  Lord,  be 
merciful  to  me  a  sinner  ! "...  To  that  heartfelt  cry  I  do  not  find  any  answer 
in  Theosophy.  I  find,  on  the  contrary,  an  almost  exultant  assertion  that 
God  is  not  a  Being  with  a  Father's  heart,  that  for  sin  there  is  no  expiation, 
and  for  the  sinner  no  forgiveness." 


COLONEL   OLCOTT.  417 

I  think  the  European  disciples  of  these  schools  would  be 
rather  startled  were  they  to  realise  the  practical  working 
of  the  systems  for  which  they  are  content  to  abjure  Chris- 
tianity. For  instance,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  mission- 
statiun  at  Cotta,  Colonel  Olcott  succeeded  in  stirring  up 
the  Buddhist  priests  to  such  hostility,  that  for  a  while  the 
attendance  at  the  Christian  schools  was  sensibly  diminished. 
In  the  village  of  Udumulla  the  priests  under  this  influence 
opened  a  rival  school,  and  pronounced  a  very  singular  form 
of  excommunication  against  all  who  should  persist  in  send- 
ing their  children  to  the  mission-schools.  Such  offenders 
were  to  be  fined  a  rupee  and  a  half,  and  were  further 
admonished  that  "  the  dhobie  shall  not  wash  their  clothes, 
the  native  doctors  shall  not  attend  any  of  them  in  sick- 
ness, the  devil- dancers  shcdl  not  perform  demon  ceremonies  for 
them  (/),  and  the  astrologers  shall  not  consult  the  ^danets  for 
tlicm  on  the  hirth  of  their  children,  or  concerning  marriages 
and  other  important  events  !  " 

We  need  scarcely  wonder  that  those  who  have  escaped 
from  this  debased  system  are  proof  against  all  arguments 
of  the  Theosophists.  Colonel  Olcott  did  his  utmost  to  per- 
suade a  Buddhist  priest  who  had  become  a  Christian  to 
resume  the  yellow  robe.  When  he  had  exhausted  his  argu- 
ments, the  ex-priest  replied,  with  more  force  than  polish, 
"  I  am  not  a  dog  that  1  should  return  to  my  vomit.  Pray 
spare  your  pity.  If  you  can  believe  that  there  is  no  right, 
no  wrong,  no  soul,  no  conscience,  no  responsibility,  no  God, 
no  judgment,  you  need  for  yourself  all  the  pity  you  pos- 
sess and  more." 

Yet  it  is  to  this  system  that  so  great  an  impetus  has 
been  given  even  in  Europe  and  America  by  the  agency 
of  so  beautiful  a  writer  as  Sir  Edwin  Arnold,  who,  in  his 

VOL.  u.  2  I) 


418  CHRISTIAN    WORK    IN    CEYLON. 

passionate  admiration  for  the  good  and  noble,  depicts 
things  not  as  they  really  are,  but  as  he  would  have  them 
to  be;  for  truly  what  lie  calls  "The  Light  of  Asia"  has 
most  practically  proved  to  be  only  bewildering  darkness. 

Surely  such  an  ovation  as  was  accorded  to  him  by  the 
Ihiddhists  when  he  visited  Ceylon  in  1886  was  doubtful 
honour  for  a  Christian.  At  one  Buddhist  college  near 
Colombo  well-nigh  three  thousand  Buddhists  assembled  to 
testify  their  gratitude  to  the  poet  who  has  painted  their 
leader  in  colours  all  borrowed  from  the  life  and  teaching 
of  Him  Who  is  the  true  Light  of  the  World.  The  honoured 
guest  was  placed  on  a  raised  platform  beneath  an  honorific 
canopy,  while  Buddhist  ecclesiastics  robed  in  yellow  satin 
chanted  chorals,  litanies,  and  anthems  in  Pali  and  Singha- 
lese, Sir  Edwin  replying  in  Sanskrit. 

One  of  those  best  acquainted  with  practical  Buddhism 
in  Ceylon  describes  it  as  "  the  most  cunningly-devised 
system  of  atheism  and  negation,  of  idol-worship,  tree  and 
serpent  worship,  demon-worship,  and  pessimism  which  has 
ever  held  the  human  mind  in  bondac^e  " — a  system  exactly 
answering  to  the  awful  Scriptural  summary,  "  Having  no 
hope,  and  without  God  in  the  world." 

Archdeacon  Farrer  says,  "  Buddhism,  as  it  appears,  not 
in  '  The  Light  of  Asia,'  but  in  the  original '  Life  of  Gautama,' 
is  but  a  philosophy  of  despair,  which  knows  no  immortality, 
no  conscience,  and  no  God.  Humanity  has  groped  in  blind- 
ness after  its  Creator ;  in  Christ  alone  has  it  learned  the 
love  of  His  Fatherhood  and  the  riches  of  His  salvation." 

Here  are  the  two  creeds.  The  Buddhist  Gospel  of  Misery 
teaches  that  all  is  vanity  and  all  is  suffering,  and  that  com- 
plete cessation  of  craving  for  existence  is  the  only  cessation 
of  suffering,  and  therefore  the  one  thing  to  strive  after. 


THE    TAVO    CREEDS.  410 

He  "who  is  able  to  keep  us  from  falling"  says,  "lie 
ye  perfect,  even  as  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  is 
perfect."  And  His  Apostle  says,  "  Work  out  your  own 
salvation  with  fear  and  trembling,  for  it  is  God  which 
worketh  in  you  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  His  good  pleasure." 
And,  as  the  goal  fur  which  we  strive,  lie  says,  "  And  so 

SHALL  YE  EVER  BE  WITH  THE  LORD." 

Christ  bestows  now  on  all  who  truly  give  themselves 
to  Him,  the  gift  of  a  spiritual  life,  one  with  His  own, 
which  shall  exist  in  conscious,  perfect  union  with  Him 
throughout  eternity.^ 

Can  anything  more  pitiful  be  conceived  than  that  human 
beings  born  within  the  pale  of  the  Christian  Church  can 
deliberately  sacrifice  the  privilege  of  individual  personal 
communion  with  the  ever-present  Almighty  Friend  who 
cares  for  each  one  of  us,  in  exchange  for  an  utterly  irre- 
sponsive negation — a  theory  of  perfection  only  to  be  attained 
through  self-conquest,  at  which  poor  weak  human  beings 
are  advised  to  aim  through  ages  of  lonely  life-long  struggles 
extending  over  many  transmigrations,  without  one  prayer- 
ful look  to  the  Divine  Helper  who  alone  can  keep  our  way- 
ward wills  from  wandering  after  all  manner  of  evil  ?  And 
all  this  in  order  to  gain  the  cessation  of  their  individual 
life. 

Buddha  made  no  offer  of  the  Divine  Gift  of  Life,  for 
it  was  not  his   to  bestow."-^     Of  Christ   it  is  true  now  as  of 

'  Jesus  says,  "He  that  hath  the  Sos  hath  Like.  He  that  hatli  not  the 
Son  ok  Ooh  hath  not  Likt:.  I  atn  come  that  they  mij^ht  liave  Life,  and 
tliat  they  niif^ht  liave  it  abundantly.  Wlierc  I  am,  tlierc  sliall  also  Mv 
siTvant  l)(!." 

-  When  I'rince  Clautama  was  horn,  the  world  had  still  six  centuries  to  wait 
ere  man  mi^'ht  again  have  access  to  the  Tree  of  Life  (tlie  tree  of  wJiich, 
according  to  the  old  allegory,  Eve  failed  to  eat,  and  the  approach  to  wliicli 
was  thenceforth  guarded,  lest,  having  sinned,  she  should  nevertheless  eat  of 


•120  CHRISTIAN    WORK    IN    CEYLON. 

old,  that  "as  many  as  receive  Him,  to  them  gives  He 
l)ower  to  become  the  sous  of  God,"  who  shall  dwell  with 
Him  for  ever  and  be  like  Him.  Buddha  offers  no  power 
nor  help  of  any  sort.  He  merely  gives  rules  how  so 
absolutely  to  conquer  every  natural  instinct,  that,  after 
untold  ages  of  weary  agonising,  men  may  attain  to  a 
cessation  of  their  very  undesirable  individual  existence,  in 
other  words,  to  Nirvana,  i.e.,  the  condition  of  a  flame  after 
it  has  been  blown  out.  The  highest  ideal  of  bliss  is 
the  attainment  of  perfection  in  the  colourless,  loveless 
condition  of  a  dewdrop  falling  into  the  ocean,  thenceforth 
to  exist  only  as  merged  in  the  Infinite.  It  is  not  a  very 
inviting  goal  for  which  to  agonise,  except  as  a  means  of 
escape  from  the  prolonged  miseries  of  innumerable  trans- 
migrations. Surely  not  worth  even  a  passing  thought  from 
any  one  who  has  received  Christ's  gracious  offer  of  immor- 
tality— His  own  gift  of  Eternal  Life  in  Himself. 

I  think  if  good  Prince  Gautama  had  been  born  600 
years  later,  and  within  hearing  of  the  truth  as  revealed  in 
Jesus  Christ,  he  would  assuredly  have  been  the  most  earnest 
and  devoted  of  His  apostles,  and  he  would  now  be  spared  the 
grief  of  seeing  dim-eyed  men  turn  from  the  fulness  of  the 
True  Light  to  grope  after  the  pale  glimmer  which,  when  he 
kindled  it  in  the  black  night  of  unmitigated  idolatry,  was 
so  eagerly  blessed,  even  as  the  weary  watcher  prizes  the 
feeble  rushlight  if  he  has  nothing  better  ;  but  caudle  and 
lamp  alike  pale  before  the  glow  of  the  Eastern  dawn. 

its  fruit  and  live  for  ever  in  estrangement  from  God) ;  and  so  the  Redeemer 
reveals  Himself  not  only  as  the  Life,  but  as  the  Life-Giver.  "To  them  who 
by  patient  continuance  in  well-doing  seek  for  .  .  .  immortality,  He  giveth 
Eternal  Life."  "  To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  Tree  of 
Life,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  Paradise  of  God."  "  This  is  Life  Eternal, 
that  they  may  know  Thee,  the  Only  True  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom 
Thou  hast  sent." 


A    HOPELESS    CREED.  421 

To  us  Clnistians  the  whole  of  life  is  glorified  and  glad- 
dened by  the  consciousness  of  living  union  with  our  ever 
present  loving  Lord,  and  the  certainty  (too  often  proved  in- 
cur own  experience  to  leave  any  room  for  doubt)  of  His 
sympathy  and  care  for  all  that  concerns  us.  But  for  tlie 
Buddhist  there  is  no  such  companionship,  only  lonely  striving 
after  a  perfection  unattainable  to  the  weakness  of  unhelped 
humanity. 

He  seeks  absolute  perfection  here.  The  Christian  knows 
his  life  here  to  be  but  the  embryo  of  what  it  shall  be ; 
of  the  next  stage  he  knows  no  more  than  the  dull  grub 
working  out  its  little  round  of  existence  dreams  in  what 
perfection  of  life  and  radiancy  of  colour  it  will  emerge  from 
its  crysalis  coffin.  Our  life  here  is  that  of  the  chick 
cradled  within  the  egg-shell — a  life  hid  (but  hid  with  Christ 
in  God),  and  even  now  being  formed  and  developed,  soon 
to  burst  the  shell  and  pass  through  whatever  stages  may 
yet  be  needed  to  bring  us  to  perfection. 

"  It  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be,"  any  more  than 
a  vast  collection  of  bird's  eggs  of  all  nations  can  suggest  the 
myriad  forms  of  beauty  which  they  represent — the  soaring 
eagles,  swift  sea-birds,  jewelled  humming-birds  flashing  in 
the  sunlight,  too  quick  for  sight  to  follow,  bright  birds  of 
paradise,  all  varied  types  of  radiant  plumage  and  musical 
song,  and  all  developed  from  a  lot  of  empty  egg-shells.  So 
from  the  soul-cases  in  which  we  now  dwell  shall  go  forth 
the  living  us  to  be  perfected,  each  after  his  kind,  and  dwell 
for  ever  in  His  presence,  which  is  fulness  of  joy. 

Of  course  one  radical  difference  between  the  striving 
after  perfection  enjoined  on  the  Christian  and  on  Buddhists, 
Parsees,  Brahmans,  and  Mahommedans  lies  in  the  motive  for 
good  works.      The  Christian  knows  he  is  bound  to  do  his 


\11  CllKISTIAN    WORK    IN    CEYLON. 

very  utmost  as  a  tliank-offcrinLj  for  the  free  gift  bestowed  on 
him,  whereas  in  all  otlier  creeds  the  one  idea  is  that  of 
purchasing  salvation  by  works.  Multiply  acts  of  self-denial, 
external  rites,  pilgrimages,  prayers  (thouL^h  Buddhism  ignores 
God),  and  by  these  means  weave  a  robe  of  self-righteousness 
— the  dearest  of  all  t(j  human  pride. 

In  the  case  of  Buddhism,  repeat  the  name  of  Buddha  as  a 
perpetual  charm.  You  can  never  say  it  often  enough ;  so  go 
on  and  on  all  your  life.  If  you  could  be  sure  that  you  had 
thus,  or  by  any  other  means,  acquired  sufficient  merit,  there 
would  be  no  occasion  to  pay  the  monks  for  reciting  endless 
acts  of  devotion  (which  cannot  be  prayers)  on  your  behalf, 
to  get  your  soul  out  of  the  many  purgatories  in  which  devils 
will  delight  in  tormenting  it.  Oh  I  the  hopelessness  of  such 
a  creed,  with  its  weary  prospect  of  successive  transmigra- 
tions, each  carrying  forward  the  account  of  good  or  ill  from 
the  previous  state  of  existence. 

Kandy,  as  might  be  expected  in  the  city  of  the  sacred 
tooth,  has  as  yet  proved  a  rocky  soil,  unfavourable  to  the 
growth  of  Christian  seed  ;  and  though  the  Episcopal  Church, 
the  Wesleyans,  and  the  Baptists  are  all  at  work,  it  has  been 
well  said  that  the  atmosphere  is  as  full  of  heathenism  as  it 
is  of  heat.  Seeing  the  very  important  bearing  on  this  sub- 
ject of  female  education,  it  is  somewhat  remarkable  that, 
witli  the  exception  of  the  Wesleyan  industrial  schools  for 
poor  girls,  no  female  boarding-school  should  have  been 
established  in  the  mountain  capital.  Mission-agents  send 
their  daughters  from  here  to  Cotta,  but  for  those  of  influen- 
tial Kandyan  gentlemen  no  such  education  is  available, 
though  it  has  been  proved  that  wherever  such  schools  are 
opened,  parents  willingly  send  their  daughters,  though  well 
aware  that  a  considerable  number  invariably  embrace  Chris- 


THE    PEOPLE    DESIRE    EDUCATION.  423 

tiauity.  This  sutiject  is  one  of  increasing  importance,  not 
merely  on  account  of  the  influence  which  might  thus  be 
acquired  in  many  influential  homes,  but  as  the  surest  hope 
of  providing  suitable  wives  for  such  converts  as  may  be 
won  from  among  the  high-caste  Kandyan  boys  who  are 
now  being  trained  at  Trinity  College,  Kandy. 

Such  is  the  anxiety  for  a  good  English  education,  that 
the  parents  of  these  lads  and  young  men  are  eager  to  secure 
it,  notwithstanding  a  well-grounded  impression  that  it  will 
probably  result  in  the  renunciation  of  Buddhism.  The 
college  is  under  tlie  direction  of  two  English  clergymen  and 
a  staff  of  ten  masters.  The  two  hundred  day-scholars  and 
the  forty  boarders  are  of  all  denominations,  but  the  majority 
are  professedly  Christian,  as  are  also  all  the  masters ;  and 
when  we  hear  of  these  scholars  holding  prayer-meetings  by 
themselves,  and  that  in  one  year  eight  of  the  senior  students 
dedicated  themselves  to  active  Christian  work,  it  is  evident 
that  the  tone  of  the  college  must  be  encouraging  to  any  Bud- 
dhist lad  who  is  inclined  to  think  seriously  on  the  subject. 

I  have  already  spoken  ^  of  the  great  school  at  Cotta,  com- 
menced by  the  Church  Missionary  Society  in  a.d.  1822, 
with  its  boarding-school  for  girls  and  training  institution 
for  native  clergy. 

In  addition  to  these  varied  duties,  the  Principal  of  Cotta, 
the  Rev.  E.  T.  Dowbiggin,  has  also  the  general  superinten- 
dence of  upwards  of  fifty  village-schools,  twenty-seven  for 
girls  and  twenty-five  for  boys.  These  are  scattered  over 
an  area  of  five  hundred  square  miles,  and  have  an  average 
daily  attendance  of  1100  girls  and  IGOO  boys,  most  of  whom 
are  Buddhists.  This  extension  of  girls'  schools  is  deemed 
a  most  satisfactory  feature,  full  of  promise   for  the  future, 

'  Vol.  i.  p.  151. 


424  CHRISTIAN    WORK    IN    CEYLON. 

were  it  only  for  the  breaking  down  of  caste  prejudice.  As 
in  the  schools  for  Hindoo  girls  in  the  Northern  Provinces, 
so  here  Singhalese  girls  of  four  distinct  castes  now  sit  on 
the  same  benches  and  learn  the  same  lessons.  This  result 
has  been  achieved  with  far  greater  facility  in  the  boys' 
schools  than  in  the  girls'.  But  the  fact  that  girls  should 
be  allowed  to  live  in  the  houses  of  Christians,  and  eat  food 
cooked  by  them,  proves  that  caste  in  Ceylon  is  a  less  grievous 
yoke  than  it  is  in  Northern  India. 

This  caste  question,  however,  does  prove  a  very  serious 
difficulty,  not  only  among  the  Tamil  people,  who  of  course 
keep  up  the  regular  Hindoo  caste  distinctions,  but  also 
among  the  Singhalese.  One  of  their  own  pastors,  the  Rev. 
L.  Lieschinj?,  writes,  that  althoufdi  born  and  bred  in  Ceylon, 
he  could  not  have  believed  how  strong  its  influence  really 
is.  He  says  that  even  the  Duriya  (low-caste)  Christians, 
on  whose  behalf  he  has  to  combat  the  prejudice  of  their 
higher-caste  neighbours,  show  just  as  much  unwillingness 
to  associate  with  those  who  are  of  inferior  caste  to  them- 
selves. And  as  regards  the  highest  castes,  this  is  un- 
doubtedly the  greatest  obstacle  to  their  conversion.  This 
is  the  more  remarkable  as  caste  is  not  a  sacred  institution 
among  the  Singhalese,  for  Buddhism  does  not  recognise 
any  such  distinction  of  rank,  and  the  Buddhist  priests,  to 
whom  all  yield  reverence,  are  admitted  from  every  caste. 
Here  the  distinction  is  simply  social ;  nevertheless  the  line 
of  demarcation  is  so  marked,  that  no  amount  of  wealth  can 
overcome  it,  or  induce  the  native  aristocracy  to  admit  a 
man  from  a  lower  caste  to  social  intercourse,  far  less  to 
intermarriage. 

Thus,  of  all  the  races  who  people  Ceylon,  the  Moormen 
alone  are  apparently  free  from  caste  trammels,  at  least  I 


MISSION-WORK    IN   COLOMBO.  425 

suppose  they  are  as  free  as  average  Christians,  which,  after 
all,  is  not  saying  much,  especially  in  free  America,  where 
the  general  interpretation  of  social  equality  seems  to  lie 
in  being  the  equal  of  all  superiors  and  the  immeasurable 
superior  of  all  of  lower  degree  ! 

The  Church  Missionary  Society  did  not  commence  work 
in  Colombo  till  1850.  Three  years  later  a  large  church  was 
erected  on  the  Galle  Face  Esplanade,  in  which  English, 
Singhalese,  and  Tamil  services  have  been  constantly  held 
for  the  three  races.  Here  the  Society  also  has  district  schools 
for  boys  and  girls,  and  a  boarding-school  for  Tamil  Christian 
girls.  It  also  carries  on  all  manner  of  evangelistic  work 
among  Hindoos,  Mahommedans,  Buddhists,  and  Portuguese. 

The  work  amongst  the  latter  is  most  discouraging,  the 
majority  being  so  steeped  in  hopeless  poverty  that  their  life 
seems  to  have  lost  all  spring  ;  and  as  Ceylon  has  no  poor- 
laws,  all  such  are  dependent  for  relief  on  a  voluntary  asso- 
ciation called  the  Friend-in-Need  Society,  which,  at  best, 
can  merely  mitigate  the  sufferings  of  the  most  needy. 
Though  of  Portuguese  descent,  many  of  these  poor  Burghers 
living  in  the  lanes  and  alleys  of  Slave  Island  are  absolutely 
heathen  ;  so  the  Wesleyans  have  latterly  commenced  holding 
services  in  Portuguese  for  their  benefit,  while  the  Church  of 
England  endeavours  to  reach  some  by  means  of  a  ragged- 
school  and  special  services  in  Singhalese,  which  the  majority 
can  understand  better  than  English.  Their  own  language  is 
a  very  debased  Portuguese.  Of  course  the  well-to-do  Dutch 
Burghers  form  a  large  and  very  important  class  of  the  com- 
munity. As  may  be  guessed  by  a  glance  round  any  of  the 
clmrches  one  may  chance  to  enter,  they  fill  all  sorts  of  re- 
sponsible positions,  but  the  Portuguese  seem  never  to  have 
got  over  the  crushing  oppression  to  which  their  ancestors 


426  CHRISTIAN    WORK    IN    CEYLON. 

were  subjected  by  the  Dutch,  and  to  this  day  few  rise  high 
in  tlie  social  scale. 

In  tlie  Southern  Province,  where  the  population  is  princi- 
pally Singhalese,  and  consequently  Buddhist,  the  Church  of 
England  Mission  is  carried  on  chiefly  by  the  S.  V.  G.  and 
Diocesan  clergy,  the  only  station  of  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  being  that  at  Baddigama,  which  was  commenced 
about  A.D.  1820.  Here  one  European  and  two  native  clergy- 
men superintend  the  work  of  fifty  male  and  female  lay 
teachers.  Baddigama  is  a  large  district,  extending  as  far 
north  as  Bentota,  and  including  a  population  of  100,000 
souls,  of  whom  only  520  are  as  yet  professedly  Christian. 
Twenty-six  church-schools,  with  an  average  attendance  of 
about  sixty-seven  children,  are,  however,  so  many  centres  of 
good  influence,  though  there  are  villages  where  the  school- 
master himself  is  as  yet  literally  the  only  Christian.  Yet 
even  in  these  the  people  seem  quite  willing  to  listen,  and 
many  profess  to  have  lost  all  belief  in  Buddhism. 

These  villages  are  generally  in  the  poorest  districts,  which 
have  been  almost  abandoned  by  the  Buddhist  priests,  and 
the  temples  left  to  fall  into  decay.  This  points  to  the  fact 
that  in  the  low  country  there  are  few  rich  temple  endow- 
ments in  land,  such  as  were  bestowed  on  the  priesthood  by 
the  Kandyan  kings,  and  which  make  the  priests  of  the 
Central  Province  altogether  independent  of  the  people.  That 
the  people  themselves  desire  education  is  certain,  and  at  one 
of  these  low-country  villages  the  Bana  Maduwa  (Buddhist 
preaching-place)  was  offered  to  the  j\Iission  by  the  village 
headmen,  to  be  converted  into  a  Christian  school ;  and  when 
this  was  declined  because  it  adjoined  the  pansala,  i.e., 
temple-school,  they  at  once  erected  a  new  building  for 
the  purpose. 


BUDDHIST    ACTIVITY.  427 

It  is,  however,  to  be  feared  that  the  present  "  Buddhist 
revival,"  so  diligently  fostered  by  Europeans,  will  awaken 
much  priestly  activity  in  regard  to  long-neglected  schools. 
Thus,  in  September  1890,  a  Buddhist  school  was  opened  at 
Welligama,  the  temple  south  of  Galle,  which  was  endowed 
by  "  the  Leper  King,"  apparently  for  no  other  purpose  than 
to  draw  away  the  children  from  the  "Wesleyan  and  S.  P.  G. 
schools  there.  Sixty  were  allured  from  the  former,  and 
twenty  from  the  latter,  and  a  few  days  later  a  dastardly 
attempt  was  made  to  burn  down  the  Wesleyan  schools. 

That  a  period  of  renewed  struggle  and  difficulty  may  be 
at  hand  seems  only  too  probable.  Yet,  on  the  whole,  there 
is  good  ground  for  encouragement.  In  summarising  the 
present  position  of  Ceylon  in  regard  to  Christianity,  it  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that,  apart  from  actual  conversions,  a 
very  much  wider  work  has  been  accomplished  in  the  soften- 
ing of  prejudices,  the  general  loosening  of  the  far-reaching 
roots  both  of  Buddhism  and  Brahmanism,  and  especially  in 
awakening  a  real  interest  in  religious  questions  in  place 
of  the  former  utter  apathy.  This  last  change  is  doubtless 
due  to  the  amount  of  careful  Scriptural  training  which  has 
for  so  many  years  been  imparted  to  many  thousand  children 
in  the  schools  of  all  the  Protestant  Missions.  These  at 
present  number  over  forty  thousand. 

Consequently,  in  any  district  where  mission-schools  have 
been  at  work  for  any  length  of  time,  a  Christian  preacher 
may  be  sure  that  many  of  his  hearers  have  some  previous 
understanding  of  the  subject,  which  in  itself  is  an  immense 
help.  Moreover,  Christian  teachers  are  more  and  more 
supplanting  the  heathen  teachers  in  all  tlie  schools,  so  that 
all  influence  is  in  the  right  direction. 

It  is  quite   evident   that  the  way  is  now  open  for  real 


428  CHRISTIAN    WORK    IN    (.'EYLON. 

progress,  if  only  the  inission-field  were  provided  with  a 
sufficient  working  staff.  Whether  these  can  be  supplied 
must  depend  in  a  great  measure  on  the  pecuniary  support 
placed  at  tlie  disposal  of  the  various  working  societies.  Of 
Ceylon,  as  of  so  many  other  lands,  it  must  be  said,  "The 
harvest  truly  is  plenteous,  but  the  labourers  are  few." 

From  the  present  position  of  Buddhism,  it  is  evident  that 
every  month  of  delay  in  occupying  any  fresb  mission-field 
in  Ceylon  will  increase  the  difficulties  and  diminish  the 
prospect  of  success ;  therefore  it  is  surely  the  plain  duty  of 
English  Christians  to  rouse  themselves  to  a  resolute  effort 
on  behalf  of  the  beautiful  Isle  where  such  a  multitude  of 
England's  sons  are  striving  to  earn  their  living. 

Now  here,  it  seems  to  me,  is  one  of  the  most  practical 
bits  of  direct  work  that  could  well  be  found.  There  lies 
the  beautiful  land,  with,  in  one  single  district,  tens  of 
THOUSANDS  of  neglected  villagers,  weary  of  their  own  dark 
ignorance,  and  ready  to  be  taught  by  whoever  will  first 
enter  the  field.  Earnest  workers,  who  have  gladly  devoted 
their  lives  and  consecrated  every  energy  to  ploughing  and 
sowino'  in  neighbouring  districts,  look  lomjingly  on  this  great 
field  which  now  lies  white  to  the  harvest,  and  from  their 
lonely  stations  they  send  home  to  rich  Christian  England 
such  a  cry  for  help  in  this  great  need  as  must  surely  arouse 
the  most  indifferent  to  a  true  understanding  of  their  privilege 
in  being  allowed  to  help  such  a  work,  from  those  funds 
which  we  know  we  each  hold  in  trust,  to  be  accounted  for 
hereafter,  as  we  so  often  need  to  remind  ourselves,  as  we 
say  "  Both  riches  and  honour  come  from  Thee,  and  of  Thine 
own  do  we  give  Thee." 

Our  Master  has  deputed  us  to  offer  to  all  men  through- 
out the  whole  world  His  priceless  gift  of  Spiritual  Life  ; 


EARNEST   WORKERS    WANTED.  429 

and  yet  there  are  millious  to  whom  His  message  of  love  has 
never  beeu  delivered,  because  they  to  whom  He  has  intrusted 
His  talents  of  gold  and  silver  are  either  squandering  them 
on  themselves,  or  hoarding  them  for  other  purposes  than  that 
of  sending  messengers  to  carry  this  great  light  to  the  nations 
who  still  dwell  in  the  darkness  of  heathenism. 

The  funds  at  the  disposal  of  the  various  societies  being 
quite  insufficient  to  supply  the  means  of  livelihood  for  even 
the  native  catechists,  schoolmasters,  and  Bible-women  so 
sorely  needed  for  the  work,  it  is  evident  that  Europeans 
possessed  of  sufficient  private  means  to  support  themselves 
would  be  especially  welcome.  Surely  there  must  be  some 
— and  many  are  needed — who  will  recognise  in  this  glorious 
work  for  eternity  a  better  use  for  God-given  talents  than 
that  of  shaping  the  pleasantest  career  in  England. 

Why  should  not  two  friends  who  realise  the  true  pur- 
pose of  tlieir  lives  agree  that  whereas  their  companions  are 
starting  in  couples  in  search  of  big  game  in  far  countries, 
they  too  will  start  together  as  fishers  of  men,  to  cast  the 
Gospel-net  in  waters  teeming  with  life  ?  Assuredly  in  no 
other  career  will  they  find  so  true  a  spring  of  joy  and 
gladness  for  their  own  lives  as  in  this  ceaseless  effort  to 
draw  all  around  them  to  the  knowledge  and  love  of  their 
Saviour. 

And  of  all  mission-fields,  few  offer  greater  attractions 
than  this  beautiful  Isle,  with  its  mountains  and  forests,  its 
bold  crags  and  picturesque  rivers,  its  gorges  and  waterfalls, 
its  lower  hills  and  wide  verdant  plains.  Furthermore,  as 
compared  with  such  vast  mission-fields  as  China  or  Africa, 
this  has  the  charm  of  a  simple  language,  a  people  gracious 
and  kindly  to  Europeans,  the  protection  of  the  Union  Jack, 
and  the  possibility  of  at  any  time  securing  a  day  with  some 


430  CHRISTIAN    WOI!K    IN    CEYLON. 

fellow-couiitryinan  wlio  will  welcome  the  sound   of  his  own 
inother-tonuue. 

Here  then  are  tlie  inducements : — A  healthy  open-air 
life  in  a  lovely  country,  ploughing  and  sowing  fields  which 
assuredly  cannot  prove  barren,  inasmuch  as  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest  is  Himself  with  His  servants  to  direct  their  work  ; 
and  when  the  angel-reapers  have  garnered  their  ripened 
grain,  the  patient  sower  will  realise  such  everlasting  glad- 
ness as  all  the  fleeting  honours  of  earth  fail  to  secure. 


INDEX. 


Aboriginal  worship,  ii.  143,  146. 

Actors,  Tamil,  i.  307. 

Adahana  Maluwa,  a  sanctuary,  i. 
304. 

Adam's  Peak,  ii.  310. 

Admiral  De  la  Haye,  ii.  149. 

Adult  baptisms,  ii.  80. 

Aetagalla,  ii.  272. 

Agnew,  Miss  Eliza,  ii.  360. 

Agnosticism,  ii.  412. 

Alexander  the  Great,  ii.  331. 

Alexandrite,  ii.  14. 

Allegalla  Peak,  life  on,  ii.  277 — foot- 
print on,  ib. — rain-storm  on,  27^5. 

Alu-Vihara  rock-temple,  i.  337. 

Amalgamated  religions,  i.  81,  277, 
297  ;  ii.  45-48. 

Ambetteyos  or  barbers,  outcasts,  ii. 
101. 

Ambulam,  ii.  5. 

American  Mission,  ii.  359. 

Amher>i(ia  nobilin,  i.  52. 

Ancestral  worship  great  hindrance  to 
conversion,  ii.  401. 

Ant-eater  and  ant-lion,  ii.  40. 

Ants,  red  and  black,  i.  2,  61,  114. 

Ants,  white,  i.  59-62  ;  ii.  39  —  eat 
dead  timber,  ii.  25. 

Anuradhapura  tanks,  i.  356,  361, 
428 — origin  of  name,  372  note, 
373_ruins,  377— buried,  392— 
liistory,  400  note,  401-403— bo- 
tree,  400-415. 

Aiichandra,  i.  368. 


Ark,  sacred,  i.  404  note  ;  ii.  6. 

Arnold,  Sir  Edwin,  ii.  4,  417. 

Arrack,  ii.  156,  181,  234— trade,  185- 
187 — farms,  Skinner  on,  185,  284. 

Arrows  of  gods,  i.  304 — of  Saman,  ii. 
6— of  Maha-Sen,  129. 

Artist's  difficulties,  i.  264,  384,  385. 

Artocarpus  incisa  and  integri/olla,  L 
167. 

Ashes  of  cow-dung,  ii.  48 — of  sandal- 
wood, use  sanctioned  by  Rome,  ib. 

Astrologers,  i.  279;  ii.  417. 

Aukana  Vihare,  i.  374. 

Australian  gums,  ii,  285,  297. 

Avissawella,  ii.  I. 

Axis,  i,  242. 

Badal-wanassa,  i.  257. 
Fiaddegama,  ii.  176. 
IJadulla,  ii.  30,  32— church,  38. 
Baker's,  Sir  Samuel,  farm,   i.    194  — 

sport,  241. 
Balalu-wewa,  i.  352,  364. 
Bamboo,  gigantic,  i.  269 — gregarious 

flowering,  215. 
Bana  Samanala,  ii.  2. 
Hanana  plant,  i.  44. 
Bandarawella,  ii.  29. 
liandicoot,  ii.  295. 
Banyan-tree  at  Negombo,  i.  145--on 

the  Nerbudda,  140;  ii.  2;>7,  241. 
Baptisms,  adult,  ii.  80. 
liarber,  Tamil,  i.  38. 
Barringtonia,  ii.  236. 


4;'>2 


INDEX. 


Baaawa-kuluin  tank,  i.  356,  364 — 
oldest,  428. 

r,ats,  nitre,  i.  337,  428. 

liatticaloa,  ii.  7(3,  1G9 — the  harbour- 
bar,  172. 

Batticotta  College  for  Tamils,  ii. 
370-376. 

Bears,  ii.  68,  217. 

Beche  de  mer,  i.  132. 

Bees,  i.  213,  214. 

Belligama,  sand  village,  ii.  194. 

Bentota,  ii.  227— oysters,  230. 

Betel-chewing,  i.  44. 

Bible-women,  ii.  366. 

Bintenne,  ii.  90. 

Birds'  nests,  edible,  i.  133. 

Bishop  of  Colombo,  first,  i.  39 — first 
Roman  Catholic,  52. 

Blended  faiths,  ii.  357. 

Blue-bells,  i.  192. 

Boar,  wild,  ii.  72. 

Boatmen,  picturesque,  i.  19,  120. 

Bolgoda  Lake,  ii.  240. 

Botanical  gardens,  Hak-galla,  i.  216 
— Peradeniya,  267,  272 — Henarat- 
goda  and  Anuradhapura,  271 — Ba- 
duUa,  271  ;  ii.  38. 

Bo-tree,  sacred,  i.  147,  406-415 — 
prophecies  concerning,  410 — cre- 
mation of  branch,  411 — of  leaves, 
412. 

Bow  and  arrows  of  gods,  L  304 ;  ii.  6. 

Branding  cattle,  i.  36. 

Brazen  temple,  i.  394,  396. 

Bread-fruit  tree,  i.  167. 

Bridge  of  boats,  L  81. 

Buddha  as  a  roast  hare,  L  297  note 
—relics  of,  385,  432. 

Buddha  or  Christ?  ii.  418-422. 

Buddha's  dreary  negations,  i.  429 — 
birthday,  96. 

Buddhas,  twenty-five,  in  Ceylon,  i. 
409  note  ;  ii.  348. 

Buddhism  incorporates  Hindooism,  i. 
81,  277,  297— is  Atheism,  84— and 
State  patronage,  87,  90,  96 — and 
serpent-worship,  128 — and  Roman 
Catholicism,  ii.  45-48  —  reasons 
given  for  abjuring,  415-417 — eso- 
teric, 416. 


Buddliist  rival  sects,  i.  81 — robe,  how 
worn,  82,  374 — temporalities,  87 
— cosmology,  93 — fighting  priest, 
99 — reverence  for  animal  life,  222 
note — heavens,  418 — railing,  419. 

Buffaloes,  i.  153;  ii.  60,  63,  69,  133, 
217 — hunting,  59. 

Bulan-kulum,  i.  364. 

Bungalow,  i.  57 — temporary,  260  ; 
ii.  36,  102,  132 — beside  the  lake, 
24  J. 

Buoua  Vista  Orphanage,  ii.  174. 

Burning  forest,  ii.  41,  43,  308. 

Busy  officials,  ii.  220  note. 

Buttercups,  i.  192. 

Butterflies,  i.  208  ;  ii.  104— Saman- 
aliya,  321. 

Cable-rattans,  ii.  133,  134  note. 

Cacao  and  chocolate,  ii.  297. 

Cacti,  i.  126,  130,  339  ;  u.  51. 

Calpentyn,  i.  130. 

Camphor,  oil  of,  i.  64. 

Canals,  i.  109— ancient,  363,  364. 

Caudle-nut  tree,  i.  159. 

Canoes,  i.  19,  120. 

Cape  Barberyn,  westernmost  land,  ii. 

227. 
Car  festival,  ii.  7,  23. 
Cashew-nuts,  i.  134 — bark,  423. 
Cassia,  i.  68. 
Cassia Jtatula,  i.  421. 
Caste,  ii.  81 — persecutions,  83,  86 

— prejudices,    97 — Singhalese,    98 

— Singhalese,  its  strength,  424. 
Caste  and  outcast,  ii.  98-101. 
Castes,  subdivisions,  fisher,  ii.   237, 

238. 
Cat's-eye,  ii.  13. 
Cattle,  humped,  i.  37 — estate,  ii.  88, 

89. 
Centipede,  i.  115. 
Ceylon  Rifles  disbanded,  ii.  244. 
Chandivelle,  ii.  87. 
Chanks,  temple  trumpet,  i.  260. 
Cliarms,  i.  278,  280  ;  ii.  195,  196. 
Chekku  oil-mill,  ii.  182,  183. 
Chena- farming,  ii.  50. 
Chetahs,  i.   237,"  is.  57,  59,  61,  64, 

217. 


INDEX. 


433 


Chilaw,  i.  134,  137. 

China,  early  trade  with  Ceylon,  ii. 
126 — -Ceylon  tributary  to,  127 — 
modern  trade,  ib. 

Cholera,  ii.  22.5,  302. 

Chrj'soberyl,  ii.  16. 

Chunam,  i.  57,  391. 

Cinchona  plantations,  ii.  299. 

Cinnamon  gardens,  i.  52,  62,  69 — 
lauiel  and  oil,  63,  65 — doves,  63 
— sensitive,  65 — peelers,  67  —  in 
jungles  near  Negombo,  149  — 
stone,  ii.  15. 

Clearing  the  forest,  ii.  41-43,  49. 

Climbing  plants,  ii.  51,  131. 

Close  season  for  game,  ii.  52,  216. 

Clothes,  smart,  i.  207. 

Cobra  reverenced,  i.  128 — five-  or 
seven-headed,  128,  412,  417,  432 
— tame,  129,  413 — and  tic  polon- 
ga,  413 — bite  remedies,  425. 

Cock,  red,  sacrifice,  i.  282. 

Cocoa  plantation,  life  on  a,  ii.  71,  87. 
See  Palm. 

Coffee,  ii.  26,  43 — stores  as  churches, 
&c. ,  44  —  thieves,  266  —  disease, 
2S7— history  of,  287-290. 

Coffin,  stone,  i.  418. 

College,  St  Thomas's,  i.  39,  40— 
Royal,  at  Colombo,  41 — Vidyo- 
daya,  92. 

Colombo  Cathedral,  Anglican,  i.  39 
— Roman  Catholic,  98. 

Colombo  harbour,  i.  9,  10 — iron- 
works, 12— cotton-spinning,  13 — 
churches,  41 — fort,  46 — siege  of, 
48 — lake,  53 — derivation  of  name, 
54. 

Convolvulus,  marine,  i.  125;  ii.  162. 

Coolies,  ii.  303. 

Coral-tree  and  cotton-tree,  109. 

Cotta  mission  -  station,  i.  151;  ii. 
423. 

Cottiar  Bay,  ii.  148. 

Cow-catcher,  i.  155. 

Cow-dung  plaster,  i.  43  ;  ii.  40,  88 — 
ashes,  48 — boiling,  239. 

Crabs,  i.  140;  ii.  161. 

Cremation  of  a  Buddhist  priest,  i. 
101 


Crime  regarded  with  indifference,  ii. 

243,  248— causes  of,  248. 
Criminals,  few  women,  ii.  249. 
Crocodiles,  i.   360,  428;  ii.    69,   70, 

134,  213— longevity  of,  135— skin, 

136. 
Crops,  two,  annually,  i.  154,  369. 
CroM-  Island,  ii.  194. 
Cruelty  to  animals,  ii.  267-269. 
Curry,  i.  43. 
Customs,    Singhalese   and   Tamil,    i. 

118. 

Dagoba,  various  kinds  of,  i.  296,  378 
— Ruanweli,  378,  381,  391— MirLs- 
wetiya,  379,  380  —  Abhayagiria, 
381 — Thuparama,  383 — Lankara- 
ma,  386 — Jetawanarama,  ib. — of 
two  classes,  387 — circle  on  a  square, 
388 — Hanguranketa,  contents  of, 
389  —  Seta  -  Chaitiya  or  Lajjika- 
vihara,  390  —  Kiri  Wihara,  ib. — 
derivation  of  word,  ib.  note  —  at 
Buddha-(Taya  rebuilt,  408 — Etwe- 
hera,  432 — Maha-Seya,  433 — Am- 
bustele,  ib.  —  Rankot  or  Ruan- 
welle-saye,  ii.  122 — Kiri,  at  Pol- 
lonarua,  ib. 

DambuUa  rock-temples,  i.  338 — scene 
of  last  insurrection,  350. 

Datura  Ijlossom,  i.  180,  187. 

Days  of  the  week,  i.  309. 

De  and  Don,  Portuguese  prefixes,  ii. 
262. 

Deaths,  falling  from  trees,  ii.  158 — 
accidental,  265. 

Decoration,  churcli,  i.  200. 

Delada-Maligawa  at  Kandy,  i.  246, 
284,  292,  311— at  Anuradliapura, 
383— at  Pollonarua,  ii.  121. 

Dclada-wanso,  i.  309. 

Demon-worship,  i.  278,  282  ;  ii.  89. 

Detractors  of  missionaries,  ii.  388. 

Devil-bird,  ii.  114,  115. 

Devil-ilancers,  i.  258. 

Devils,  how  to  deceive,  i.  280. 

Dewenipiatissa,  King,  i.  356,  385, 
40S,  431. 

Dliatu-Sena  and  Mahanamo,  i.  352, 
366. 


VOL.   II, 


2   E 


434 


INDEX. 


Dhobie,  village  laundryman,  ii.  102 
— prepares  bungalows  for  travel- 
lers, ih. 

Dimbula  district,  i.  191. 

Dondra-  or  Dewa-nuwara,  i.  402  ;  ii. 
192,  198-201. 

Doves,  ii.  230. 

Dragonflies,  ii.  25. 

Drama,  i.  368  ;  ii.  163,  164. 

Duel,  historic,  i.  342. 

Dutch  missions,  ii.  175  —  invasion, 
349. 

Dutugemunu,  i.  342,  373,  378,  379 
note. 

Ebed-melech,  the  Ethiopian,  ii.  409. 

Ebony  wood  durable,  i.  59  ;  ii.  159 
— raft  of,  i.  79. 

Egg-shells,  ii.  421. 

Eiswara,  ancient  worship  of,  i.  417. 

Elephant  Plains,  i.  191. 

Elephant,  Tom  Skinner's  first,  i.  173 
— war,  pre-Christian,  373 — shoot- 
ing, ii.  58,  68,  71 — a  midnight 
adventure  with  an,  218-221 — 
charmer,  professional,  221. 

Elephants  as  surveyors,  i.  176 — 
climbers,  217  —  natural  history, 
219-236— tender  feet,  231— export 
of,  235 — in  full  dress,  299 — bridge- 
building,  ii.  54 — close  season,  in- 
crease, 216. 

Elk,  i.e.,  sambur  deer,  i.  238,  240  ; 
ii.  52,  67. 

Ella  Pass,  ii.  35. 

Elu,  high  Singhalese,  i.  289. 

Encroachments  of  the  sea,  ii.  201- 
205. 

Eribudda,  i.  110. 

Esoteric  Buddhism,  ii.  416. 

Eucalyptus,  ii.  285, 

Euphorbia,  ii.  221. 

Evil  eye,  dread  of,  ii.  97. 

Evil  spirits,  how  to  deceive,  i.  281. 

Eye  flies,  ii.  54,  104. 

Fa  Hian,   Chinese  traveller,  i.   383, 

407. 
False  accusation,   murders  to  cause, 

ii.  233. 


"  Father  "  American  mission,  ii.  368. 
Feet  of  Buddha,   i.   387.     See  Holy 

Foot. 
Female  medical  students,  ii.  365. 
Ferguson,    A.    M.,     editor,    i.    72  — 

William,   botanist,   73. 
Ferns,     tree,     i.     190  —  maidenhair, 

435— climbing,  ii.  2,  234— basket, 

132. 
Ficu»  relifiiona,  indica,  and  elaslica, 

i.  147,  148,  265,  407. 
Field-hospitals,  ii.  35. 
Filter  necessary,   i.    125;    ii.    104 — 

for  village,  105. 
Fire,  sacred,  i.  85. 
Fire-flies  (beetles),  i.   28,  113,   185; 

ii.   7,   165. 
Fish  of  gorgeous  colours,  i.   38,  137, 

140 — culture,  196,  197 — in  boiling 

springs,  ii.  154. 
Fishers,   Roman  Catholic,  i.    19,  121 

— pay    tithes,    ii.    347  —  drawing 

nets,  206 — separate  castes,  237. 
Fishing   by    torchlight,    i.    110-131  ; 

ii.  79 — with  baskets,  136. 
Flamboyant,  i.  52. 
Floral  ofl"erings  (case  of  fraud),  i.  85, 

285,  393. 
Flowers,  profusion  of ,  i.  58,  181,  204, 

211— at  Xuwara  Eliya,  199-201. 
Flying  foxes,  i.  272;  ii.  131 — squir- 
rels, i.  272— fish,  ii.  166,  173. 
Foliage,  brilliant  young,  i.  17,   119, 

186. 
Footprints,    ii.    310— Christian,   312 

— on   Allegalla,    322 — on   Adam's 

Peak,  333,  336. 
Forest  Department,  ii.  49. 
Forres,  ii.  325. 
Fort  Austenburg,  ii.  140. 
Fort  Frederick,  ii.  142,  147. 
Frequent  removal  of  officials,  ii.  192 

note. 
Frescoes    in    rock  -  temple    of    Dam- 

bulla,  i.   341 — at  Sigiri,   345. 
Frogs,  i.  53 — embedded  in  stone,  95 

— green,  ii.  131. 
Fruit  supply,  i.   38 — cool  when  first 

gathered,  433. 
Fungi,  ii.  24. 


INDEX. 


435 


Gal  Yihara,  ii.  124. 

Galge,  priest's  cell,  i.  -417,  435. 

Galkiilum,  i.  377. 

Galle,  i.   9,  23;   ii.    174 — harbour,  i. 

9;    ii.   178 — lighthouse,  ii.   178 — 

coral  reefs,  ib. 
(ialle    to   Colombo,   road,   ii.    233 — 

ninety  years  ago,  240. 
Gambling,  Singhalese  love  of,  i.  23—- 

leads  to  crime,  ii.  248. 
Gampola,  i.  181,  403;  ii.  274. 
Gangarowa,  ii.  279. 
Gem  notary,  ii.  8 — legislation,  19. 
Gemming,  i.  210. 
Gems,  list  of,  ii.  10. 
Gems  and  gem-pits,  ii.  8-20. 
Giant's   tank,    i.     354 — canal,    363, 

372. 
Gigantic  bean,  ii.  131 — images,  125. 
Glacial  marks  on  rock,  none,  i.  435. 
Oloriosa  snpfrha,  ii.  234,  246. 
Glow-worm,  ii.  7,  S. 
Goats,  long-legged,  i.  415. 
Gobbs,  i.  103. 

Gogerly,  the  Rev.  J.,  i.  289. 
Goldsmith's  curse,  i.  257. 
Gordon,     Sir    Arthur    Hamilton,    i. 

363-366. 
Gordon   Gumming,  John,   1st  chena 

Inspector,   ii.   49 — diary,   56. 
(xrain  on  dry  soil,  i.  359. 
Grammars  in  rhyme,  i.  291. 
Grasshoppers,  ii.  25. 
Grassy  downs,  i.  191. 
Grave-stones,    domestic   \ise   for,   ii. 

39. 
Green,  predominance  of  (submarine), 

ii.  178 — prevalence  of,  in  birds  and 

butterflies,  ii.  229. 
Gregory,  Lake,  i.  196. 
Gregory,  Sir  William,  i.  361-363. 
Grove  of  the  Tank    Gods,    ii.    129, 

130. 
Gutta-percha,  i.  266. 

Hafisidum  or  retention  of  breath,  i. 

418. 
Hak-galla,  i.  21.->. 
H;dduiiiniulla,  ii.  23,  26. 
Iliimbantota,  ii.  211,  214. 


Hanomoreyos  outcasts,  ii.  101. 
Hanwella,  ii.  1. 

Happy  Valley  Mission,  ii.  30-34,  387. 
Haputale  railway,  i.  157  ;  ii.  28,  29 

— pass,  27. 
Hare,  Buddha,  mark  on  moon,  i.  297 

note. 
Hat-bodin,  seven  bo-trees,  ii.  198. 
Head-covering,  i.  119. 
Hedgehog-grass,  i.  124. 
Hibiscus,  i.  45. 
Hindo-galla,  i.  249. 
Hindoo-Buddhist  procession,  1.  297  ; 

ii.  6. 
Hindoo  images  in  Buddhist  temples, 

i.  81,  277,  341. 
History,  Dutch,  French,  British,  ii. 

149. 
Holy  Coat,  i.  327. 
Holy  Foot,  ii.  310,  333,  336— or  feet? 

312 — to  whom  ascribed,  320. 
Holy  Footprint,  ii.  310. 
Holy  Girdle,  i.  326. 
Holy  oil,  essence  of  Tooth,  i.  321. 
Holy  places   in   the   forest,   ii.    129, 

130. 
Holy  teeth,  a  complete  set,  i.  318. 
Holy  Tooth,  i.  291-321— burnt,  312 

— manufactured,  314,  317. 
Holj'  Trousers,  i.  333. 
Home-sick  Britons,  i.  40. 
Honey-sucker,  i.  275. 
Horoscope,  i.  278. 
Horse-keepers,  i.  36. 
Horses,  sacred,  ii.  76. 
Horton  Plains,  i.  189. 
Hospitals,  ii.  35. 
Hot  springs,  ii.  153. 
Hounds,  i.  240. 
Hydrophobia,  i.  77. 

Ibn  Batuta,  Moorish  traveller,  ii.  198, 

.331. 
Idol's  eyes,  i.  97,  98. 
Iguana,  i.  Ill;  ii.  176. 
Images,  Hindoo,  in  Buddhist  temples, 

i.  81,  277. 
India  -  rubljer  tree,    i.    148  —  avenue 

at  Peradeniya,  264 — how  collected, 

265. 


43G 


INDEX. 


Industrial  homes,   i.   14 — schools,   ii. 

:v.i. 

Inliik'l  ))Ooks,  ii.  404. 
Inheiitanco,  law  of,  ii.  2G1. 
Inscriptions  on  rock  or  slabs,  i.  344, 

436 — "Galpota,"  ii.  118. 
Insects,  noisy,  i.  27. 
Iranativc,  snake-temple  on,  i.  127- 
Iron-wood,  i.  52,  187. 
Irrigation  works,  i.  351-371. 
Ixora,  ii.  112. 

Jackals,  ii.  57,  64. 

Jaffna,   ii.    355— College,   370-376— 

the  lona  of   Southern  India,  374 

— cyclone,  395. 
Jak-tree,  i.  167. 
Jambu-tree,  ii.  SO. 
Jay,  blue,  i.  210. 
Jetawanai-ama  temple  at  Pollonarua, 

ii.  121,  122,  128. 
Jinrikisha,  i.  11. 
Juggernath  car,  ii.  7,  23. 
Jungle  fever,  remedy  for,  i.  156. 
Jymkana,  i.  202. 

Kaasyapa  the  parricide,  i.  346. 

Kabragoya,  i.  Ill  ;  ii.  177. 

Kaduganawa,  ii.  276. 

Kaduganawa  Pass,  i.  156,  171,  179. 

Kala-wewa  tank,  i.  351 — its  feeders, 
352. 

Kalpitiya,  i.  130. 

Kalutara,  ii.  237. 

Kandy,  ancient  approach,  i.  171-173, 
284 — history,  243 — king's  funeral 
ceremonies,  248 — chiefs'  dresses, 
251 — ladies',  254 — four  Hindoo 
temples,  303. 

Kannya  hot-springs,  ii.  153. 

Kanthalay  tank,  i.  353-361  ;  ii.  128, 
137. 

Kapok,  i.  169. 

Kapua  (devil-dancer),  i.  259-277. 

Kapurales,  i.  303,  304. 

Karajo  or  parangi,  ii.  399. 

Karative  salt-pans,  i.  134, 

Kattadta  (devil-priest),  i.  278,  279. 

Kattregam,  i.  356  ;  ii.  129,  223,  224. 

Kelani  ferry,  i.  53 — bridge  of  boats, 


79 — temple,    SO — -town    anciently 

inland,  ii.  203. 
Kiklomani,  i.  196,  207. 
Kingfishers,  ii.  77,  138. 
Kirti  Nissanga,  King,  ii.  109,  119. 
Knox,  Robert,  captive,  ii.  148. 
Kopay    Churcli,    fall    of    steeple,    ii. 

396. 
Kurukkan  (grain),  i.  359. 
Kurunegalla,  i.  339  ;   ii.  272. 
Kushta,  Rajah,  ii.  194. 

Lagerstramla  refjina,  i.  160. 
Lagoons,  how  formed,  i.  53,  103  ;  ii. 

77 — very  salt,  212 
Lake  Gi'Cgory,  i.  196. 
Lakes,  artificial,  i.  53,  353. 
Langdon,  the  Rev.  Samuel,  ii.  30,  32, 

387. 
Lanka,  i.  407  ;  ii.  109,  202. 
Lanka  Tileka,  ii.  274. 
Lantana,  ii.  51. 

Layard,  Sir  Charles  Peter,  i.  72. 
Leeches,  i.  116,  261-264. 
Legends  and  folk-lore,  i.  342. 
Lemon-grass,  i.  191-193. 
Leopards,  i.  236-238. 
Leper  King,  ii.   194,    195 — hospital, 

195. 
Lettuce-tree,  i.  .32. 
Lighthouses,  ii.  200. 
Lilies,    water,    i.    113,    421 — on    the 

sea-shore,  ii.  161. 
Lily    (climbing),    ii.    234  —  (Virgin), 

235. 
Lizards,    i.    Ill,    112;  ii.    131,    134, 

207,  208. 
Lotus  blossom,  i.  42 1  ;  ii.  11 3 — gold 

and  silver,  i.  292,  296,  404. 
Lowa  -  malia  -  paya,     Great     Brazen 

Temple,  i.  394-396. 
Luminous  creatures,  ii.  7. 
Lunatics,  i.  36. 
Lyrics,  Christian  songs,  ii.  410. 

Madoolseme,  ii.  41. 
Madulsima  mountains,  ii.  215. 
Maha  Eliya  (Horton  Plains),  i.  189. 
Maha-Sen,    King,    i.    353 ;    ii.    128- 
223. 


INDEX. 


437 


Maha  -  Wansae,    great    dynasty,    ii. 

lOS. 
Maha-waiiso  chronicles,  i.  289,   378, 

400. 
Mahadova,  ii.  41. 
Mahagam,  ancient  city,  ii.  215. 
Mahindo,  royal    missionary,    i.    4.31- 

433 — Mahindo's  bed,   rock-ledge, 

435. 
Maidenhair  fern,  i.  435. 
Mail-cart  to  Edinbui-gh,  i.  3. 
"  Makin'  a  toil  of  it  ! ''  ii.  304. 
Malaria  in  Dckanda  Valley,  i.  156. 
Maligawa,  Tooth  temple  at  Kandy,  i. 

246,  284,  292. 
Mana  grass,  i.  191,  192. 
Mangosteen,  ii.  238. 
Mangrove  swamps,  ii.  77,  235. 
Mantis,  praying,  i.  273. 
Manuscripts,  ancient,  i.  288-291. 
Maradankadawalla,  i.  376. 
Maravilla,  i.  144. 
March,  on  the,  ii.  54. 
Marine  convolvulus,  ii.  235. 
Masks,  hideous,  i.  25!). 
Matale,  i.  336,  337. 
Matara,  ii.  192,  197. 
Mavalipuram  submerged,  ii.  205. 
Memerijloii  tinctorium,  i.  422. 
Meritorious  water-jars,  ii.  231-233. 
Midwifery,  ii.  303. 
Migration  of  butterflies,  i.  208. 
Mihintale,   i.   382,  391,  430;  ii.  132 

—  1840  steps,  i.  431. 
Mildew,  i.  58,  385. 
Milk  not  used,  i.  113 — offering,  127, 

410— charm,  ii.  11.3. 
Millepedes,  i.  274. 
Mimosa  xenslfira,  i.  268. 
Miiicry    Lake,    i.    353-355;    ii.    108, 

128. 
Miracle  plays  at  Chilaw,  i.  141. 
Mission,  native  home,  ii.  383 — Happy 

Valley,   387 — Tamil  coolie,  405 — 

Kandyan  Itinerancy,  413. 
Mi.ssionary  detraction,  ii.  3sS  note. 
Missions,  clironological  table,  ii.  354 

— summary    of,    356  —  American, 

commenced,   359 — Wesleyan,    378 

— Native,   to   Iturmali,   38S  —  Bap- 


tist and  Presbyterian,  390  note — 

Salvation   Army,   390 — Episcopal, 

391  —  to     Portuguese     burghers, 

425. 
Models  of  hands,   arms,  eyes,  ears, 

offered,  ii.  223  note. 
Mohammedan  festival,  i.  96 — mosque, 

1.30. 
Monara  or  Mayura-paya,  i.  394. 
Monastic  records  graven  on  rock,  i. 

437. 
Mongoose,  i.  105,  106  note. 
Monkey,  i.   109,   121-123 — mischiev- 
ous, ii.  103. 
Monoliths,  i.  378,  385,  387,  396. 
Monsoon,  seasons  of,  i.  56. 
^loondim  Aar  lake,  ii.  87- 
Moonstones,  gems,   i.   210;    ii.    13 — 

ancient  sculpture,  i.  391,  393,  406  ; 

ii.  117. 
Moormen,  i.  20,  130,  131  ;  ii.  8,  9. 
Mosquito,  i.  110 — prolitic,  197. 
Motive  for  striving,  ii.  421. 
Mouse-deer,  i.  239. 
Mudaliyar,  dress  of,  i.  252. 
Mulgirigalla,  Buddhist  monastery,  ii. 

209,  211. 
^Murders  to  cause  false  accusation,  ii. 

253. 
Murray,  inventor  of  clay  sluice-pipes, 

i.  368. 
ilusical   instruments,   i.  259,  376 — 

shell-lish,  ii.  78,  79. 

Naga  Pokuna,  i.  432. 
Naga-dipo,  isle  of  serpents,  ii.  98. 
Xainativoe,  snake-temple  on,  i.  127. 
Nairs,  i>eculiar  undress  of  high-caste 

women,  i.  349. 
Names,  descriptive,  i.  211  ;  ii.  2(i2 — 

of  estates,  30()-30S. 
Nanuoya,  i.  ISO;  ii.  27. 
Nationalities,    divers,    in    Ceylon,   i. 

21. 
Nattoor  river,  ii.  95. 
Navatkuda,  ii.  SO. 
Negombolakc,  i.  1(»!»,  110.  1  J 5— fort, 

149. 
Ncllore,  ii.  355. 
Nest  of  a  moth,  i.  27  I. 


438 


INDEX. 


Nestorian  Cliristians    in    Cej'lon,    ii. 

340. 
Nests,  peculiar  birds',  i.  275,  276. 
New  Year,  Tamil  and  Singhalese,  i. 

96. 
Nillo,  i.  21.S,  215. 

Nine  and  three,  i.  301,  303,  307,  308. 
Nipple  hills,  ii.  216. 
Nirvana,    definition  of,    i.    375  —  or 

eternal  life,  ii.  418-422. 
Nutmeg-tree,  i.  71. 
Nuwara  P^liya,  i.  180,  195 — climate, 

198,  202. 
Nuwara-Kalawiya,  i.  361  ;  ii.  112. 
Nuwara-wewa,  i.  428. 

Oath-stone  at  Pollonarua,  ii.  129. 

0.  K  C,  failure  of,  ii.  291. 

'  Observer  '  newspaper,  i.  72. 

Ola  palm-leaf  book,  i.   165,  288-291 

— copy-book,  ii.  95. 
Olcott,  Colonel,  ii.  417. 
Oliphant,  Laurence,  ii.  328. 
Oodooville,  first  girls'  school,  ii.  360. 
Opera-glasses  in  the  temple,  i.  294. 
Orchids,    Wanna    Rajah,     i.     108 — 

yellow  ground,  192. 
Orchilla,  lichen,  i.  132. 
Ordeal  by  boiling  oil,  ii.  239. 
Oriental  Library,  i.  92,  285,  288. 
Otters,  i.  197,  242. 
Owls,  ii.  114. 
Oysters  at  Bentota,  ii.  230. 

Padda-birds,  i.  126. 

Padivil  tank,  i.  353,  354  note. 

Pali,  i.  289. 

Pallagolla,  i.  183. 

Pallai,  ii.  397-399. 

Palm-leaf  books,  i.  165. 

Palm-leaf  umbrella,  i.  163,  403. 

Palms  as  lightning-conductors,  ii.  189. 

Palms  blossom  like  wheat,  i.  133. 

Palms,  cocoa,  i.  3n  ii-  180-191 — at 
high  elevations,  i.  120  ;  ii.  185 — 
with  several  heads,  i.  150 — planta- 
tion, ii.  71,  87,  169-171  — leaf 
used  as  a  charm,  191 — areca,  i. 
31,  161 — palmyra  and  banyan, 
120 — jaggery     or    kitool,     161  — 


talipot,  1 63  —  date,  thoru,  oil, 
sago,  267 — coco  de  mtr,  268 — pal- 
myra, ii.  154-160. 

Palms  multiplied  by  foreigners,  i. 
371  ;  ii.  179,  180. 

Pandals,  erection  of,  i.  257. 

Pandanus,  i.  109. 

Panduwaasa,  King,  i.  428. 

Pansala  schools,  i.  88,  417;  ii.  30. 

Panther,  i.  237. 

Pantura  or  Panadura,  ii.  240. 

Papaw,  i.  168. 

Paradise  in  Ceylon,  ii.  310. 

Parangi  or  karayo,  i.  363,  369,  429  ; 
ii.  221,  399. 

Park-country  near  Batticaloa,  ii.  35, 
52,  90. 

Patenas,  i.  192-194. 

Patipola  dividing  range,  ii.  27. 

Peacock  Palace,  i.  394. 

Peai'l-fisheries,  i.  7  —  police  regula- 
tion of,  ii.  270. 

Peepul,  i.  147,  406,  409. 

Pelicans'  nests,  i.  354  note  ;  ii.  69. 

Pengolin  or  ant-eater,  ii.  41. 

Peradenij'a  Gardens,  i.  267,  272. 

Peradeniya  Station,  i.  179. 

Perahera  at  Kandy,  i.  284,  297,  300, 
306 — date  of,  300 — at  Ratnapura, 
ii.  5 — at  Dondra,  200. 

Periyakulam,  ii.  153. 

Perjury  rampant,  ii.  257. 

Pettah  native  bazaar,  i.  36,  39. 

Phosphorescence,  i.  29,  131  ;  ii.  165- 
168. 

Pidaru-tala-galla,  i.  196,  203. 

Pigeons,  ii.  229. 

Pig-sticking,  ii.  73. 

Pilgrimages,  regulation  of,  ii.  224. 

Pilgrims,  aged,  ii.  324,  327. 

Ping-chattie  (water -jar),  ii.  231, 
233. 

Pioneer  corps,  i.  175. 

Plains,  Elk,  Agra,  i.  192,  206— 
Horton,  189  —  Maturata,  205  — 
Matale  or  Maha-talawa,  336. 

Planet-worship,  i.  278,  308,  309. 

Planter's  aid  to  Mission  work,  ii. 
407. 

Planter's  life,  ii.  301,  309. 


INDEX. 


439 


Play,    ancient    Buddhist,    i.    384 — 

Tamil,  8GS ;  ii.  1G3. 
Plumbago,  ii.  21,  ■22. 
Plumeria  aculij'olia,  i.  84. 
Poet  Kalidas,  ii.  197. 
Polnciana  rtijia,  i.  52. 
Pokuna,  Kuttam,  i.  427. 
Pokuna,  Kunuxra,  ii.  123. 
Police  work,  ii.  243  tt  nrq. 
Pollonarua,    i.     401-403— dei'ivation 

of  name,  414  ;  ii.  108. 
Polyandry,  ii.  203  note. 
Porcupine,  ii.  72,  73,  124 — foe  of  tea, 

295. 
Portuguese  invasion,  ii.  348 — present 

condition,  425 — names,  348. 
Potato-tree,  i.  187;  ii.  37. 
Pottery,  offerings  of  red,  ii.  139. 
Prakrama  Baku,  i.  344,  374  ;  ii.  108, 

109,    110  — Seas   of,    i.    355;    ii. 

1 09— his  statue,  ii.  1 1 6. 
Precautions   in  tropical   countries,  i. 

423. 
Prescriptions,  native,  i.  423-427. 
Prickly  heat,  i.  115. 
Processions,    Buddhist    and    Roman 

Catholic,    i.    99 — Roman    Catliolic 

at   Chilaw,    141 — Roman   Catholic 

in  coffee  districts,  ii.  43. 
Progress  in  Ceylon,  i.  3,  6. 
Proverbs,  i.  419. 
Provinces,  i.  25(5. 
Pussilawa,  i.  182. 
Puttalam,  i.  130,  136. 

Quarries,  i.  391. 

Races,  diversity  of,  i.  20,  1 1 S. 

Ragalla,  i.  205. 

Rag  offerings,  ii.  342. 

Railway,  Colombo  to  (iampola,  i.  155. 

Rainbow,  rose-coloured,  ii.  25. 

Rain-cliarms,  ii.  113,  120. 

Riijali-kariya,  i.  8,  175,  245,  35(5-359. 

Rajah  Singlia,  i.  291. 

Rama  and  Ravana,  i.  189;  ii.  320. 

Rama,  Prince  of  <  )ude,  ii.  202. 

Ramayana  poem,  ii.  .'^Jn. 

Rambutan,  i.  38. 

Ratnapura,  ii.  2. 


Rats  and  rat-snakes,  i.  57,  129. 

Ravana,  ancient  king  or  demon,  ii. 
202. 

Razors,  cheap,  ii.  305. 

Red-deer,  i.  239. 

Red  rain,  ii.  197  note. 

"  Red  thread  "  to  keep  off  witches,  i. 
.343. 

Reformatory,  ii.  34. 

Regimental  coats  for  coolies,  ii.  44 — 
great-coats,  305. 

Registration  of  dogs  and  carts,  ii. 
207 — of  servants,  265. 

Relic-shrines,  i.  296,  389. 

Relic  -  worship,  i.  321  —  blood  of 
Thomas  a  Becket,  lb.  —  Father 
Arrowsmith's  hand,  322 — arm  of 
St  Augustine,  322 — the  True  Cross, 
323— toe-nails  of  St  Peter,  324— 
corpse  of  the  Bishop  of  Ischia,  326 
— Sainte  Ceinture,  ih. 

Relics,  recently  discovei'ed,  i.  91-95 
— several,  338. 

Religious  conflicts,  Roman  Catholic, 
i.  99,  141. 

Religious  intolerance,  ii.  371  note — 
orders,  i.  51. 

Reptiles,  i.  73. 

Rest-houses,  ii.  4,  137. 

Rhododendron  trees,  i.  187,  ISS. 

Rice  cultivation,  i.  153. 

Rice-fields,  terraced,  1.  336. 

Rice  from  wrecked  ships,  i.  371. 

Rice-name,  baby's,  i.  279. 

Rita-galla,  i.  351. 

River,  the  Kelani,  i.  53,  179  —  the 
Maha-welli-ganga,  96,  102,  179; 
ii.  103— the  Maha-Oya,  i.  Ill,  145, 
179  ;  ii.  .54— the  Cing-Oya,  i.  Ill, 
145— the  Luna-Uya,  113,  119,  143 
— the  Dedroo-Oya,  124  -  the  Moon- 
dalani,  126— Puna-Ella  and  Gar- 
unda-Ella,  182— Sita-Ella,  1S9-- 
Nanuoya,  1 96  —  Fort  M '  I )( maid 
river,  241— tlie  Ping-Oya,  336— 
the  Kala-Oya,  352 — the  Malwatte, 
.355,  .370,  420 — Ambanganga,  355; 
ii.  112— tliu  Kalu-(;auga,  2,  236, 
237— tlie  .Manick-Canga,  Ki,  225— 
tlie  Kataragama,  <''. — the  Belilud- 


440 


INDEX. 


Oya,  25 — the  Welawe-Ganga,  ih. 
— the  Magama,  3") — the  Danibera- 
Oya,  'A — Nattoor,  9.") — (iindura, 
176— Nilwalla-Ganga,  192,  190— 
Kuimikkan,  formerly  called  Kom- 
bookgam,  216 — Alutgama,  227,  238 
— Sita-Ganga,  329. 

Road  bungalows,  ii.  4. 

Roads  when  non-existent,  ii.  240. 

Robert  de  Nobili,  Jesuit,  ii.  46-48. 

Robin  of  Ceylon,  i.  144. 

Rol)inson,  Sir  Hercules,  i.  90,  361. 

Rock  frescoes  at  Sigiri,  i.  347. 

Rock  snake,  ii.  62,  70. 

Rock-temples,  Hindo  Galla,  i.  249 — 
Alu-Vihara,  337 — Dambulla,  338 
— Isurumuniya,  417 — Ella  Pass,  ii. 
36— Mulgirigalla,  209. 

Rocks,  huge  dark  masses,  i.  339. 

Rodiya  outcasts,  ii.  99-101. 

Rogers,  Major,  i.  219,  22.5. 

Rogers'  Memorial  Church,  ii.  37. 

Roman  Catholic  Mission,  ii.  45,  357, 
358. 

Roots  of  trees,  buttressed,  ii.  55,  273. 

Rounded  rock-masses,  i.  339,  434 ; 
ii.  272. 

Royal  maiden,  a,  ii.  204. 

Rubies,  ii.  10,  12. 

Ruby  sand,  ii.  225. 

Rugam  tank,  ii.  55. 

Saanii    Rock,    Trincomalee,    ii.    142- 

146. 
Sabaragamua,  ii.  10,  17. 
Sack-tree,  i.  117. 

Saints,  their  great  stature,  ii.  317. 
Salt-works,  north-west  coast,  i.  134- 

13G— south-east,  ii.  212-214. 
Saman,  brother  of  Rama,  ii.  320. 
Sambur  deer  (Elk),  i.  239,  240;   ii. 

52. 
Sanghamitta,  i.  409. 
Sanscrit,  i.  289. 
Sapphires,  ii.  9-12. 
Satin-wood  bridge,  i.  180. 
Saved  fi'om  smoke,  ii.  377. 
Schools,     Wesleyan    Industrial,     at 

Colombo,  i.  14. 
Scorpions,  ii.  194. 


Scotchmen,  ii.  324. 

Screw-pine,  i.  109. 

Seas  of  Prakrama,  i.  355. 

Seeds  carried  by  rivers,  i.  124. 

vSeeds  which  purify  water,  ii.  105. 

Sensitive  plant,  i.  268. 

Serendib,  ii.  165. 

Serfdom  on  temple  lands,  i.  89,  357. 

Serpent  and  tree  worship,  i.  412,  413. 

Serpent-bite  remedies,  i.  425. 

Serpent  "for  broken  bones,"  ii.  39. 

Serpents,  i.  59 — propitiated,  127. 

Service  Tenures  Ordinance,  i.  90,  357. 

Seven-  or  five-headed  cobra,  i.  128, 
412,  417. 

Shadow  of  Adam's  Peak,  ii.  334,  339 
— of  Fuji-Yama,  339. 

Shai'k-charmers,  ii.  213. 

Shai'k  in  harbour,  ii.  141. 

Shell-beds,  ii.  222. 

Shrine  of  St  Anna,  i.  142 — of  the 
Tooth,  294. 

Sigiri,  fortress  of,  i.  345. 

Singhalese  homes,  i.  42 — children, 
118. 

Sita,  wife  of  Rama,  ii.  202. 

Skinner,  the  roadmaker,  i.  172 — his 
rations,  177 — his  work,  179  —  on 
district  courts,  ii.  263 — his  pro- 
phecy,  283. 

Skylarks,  i.  242. 

Slave  Island,  i.  53. 

Sluice-pipes  of  clay,  i.  368,  376. 

Smallpox,  first  appearance  of,  in  Cey- 
lon, i.  174 — goddess  of,  propitiated, 
283 — terrible  visitation  of,  ii.  111. 

Snake's  fangs,  i.  127. 

Snake's  Isle,  i.  127. 

Snake's  temples,  i.  127. 

Snake,  rat-,  i.  57,  129 — sea-,  132. 

Snake-worship  and  Buddhism,  i.  128, 
412— and  Siva,  128. 

Snipe,  ii.  89,  90. 

Southernmost  known  land,  ii.  201. 

Soysa,  Charles  de,  i.  77,  144. 

Spence  Hardy,  the  Rev.  R.,  1.  289. 

Spice-laden  breezes,  i.  17,  35. 

Spiders,  ii.  104,  206-208. 

Sportsman's  paradise,  ii.  74. 

Spotted  deer,  i.  242  ;  ii.  52. 


INDEX. 


441 


Squirrels,  ii.  206. 

>Sri  Pack,  Holy  Foot,  ii.  310. 

Sri-patula,  sacretl  footprint,  i.  417. 

Stag's-horu  moss,  i.  2.57. 

Stick-insects,  i.  273. 

Stilts,  i.  2(50. 

Stone  bulls,  i.  405. 

Strychnine- tree,  i.  125. 

Sula-Wansae,  or    lesser  dynasty,  ii. 

108. 
Sun-birds,  ii.  151. 
Sunday  cargo- work  checked,  ii.   386 

note. 
Sunwise  turns,  i.  403,  405,  412;  ii. 

7,  332. 
Suriya-trees,  i.  45. 
Suriya-Wansae,  or  Solar  Dynasty,  ii. 

108. 

Tailor-bird,  i.  275. 
Talla-goj'a  lizard,  i.  112. 
Taniankaduwa  district,  ii.  1 1 2. 
i'amarind-tree,  i.  10!). 
Tamblegani,  brackish  lake,  ii.  138. 
Tamil  ladies,  i.  137 — coolies,  ii.  303. 
Tangalle,  ii.  205,  209. 
Tanks,  restoration  of,    i.    361-371  — 

at  Batticaloa,  ii.    77  —  restoration 

around  PoUonarua,    112. 
Tea  in  1600  and  1800,  i.  3— "golden 

tips, "  7 — how  to  cool,  for  traveller's 

drink,  ii.  106 — introduction  of,  292 

— adaptive  to  soil,  294. 
Teeth,  a  complete  set,  i.  318. 
Tiieosophy,  ii.  416. 
Tkespemi  populnta,  i.  45. 
Thorny  plants,  i.  114. 
Three   and    nine,    i.    301,    303,   307, 

308  ;  ii.  23. 
Thuiibenjia,  i.  264. 
Ticks,  ii".  53. 

Tic  polonga  and  cobra,  i.  413. 
'I'imljcr,  beautiful  woods,  i.  79. 
Time  and  tides,  i.  55. 
'i'lripano  tank,  i.  .377. 
Tissamaharania  tank,  ii.  221,  222. 
Tissawewa    tank,   i.    356,    361,   363, 

428. 
Titles,  oflicial,  253-255. 
Toddy,  ii.  185-187 — drawers,  82,  156, 


15S — and   arrack,    156,    1S1-1S7, 

234. 
"  Tooth  and  State,"  i.  2SS,  317. 
Tooth,  the   original,   i.   291-321 — its 

many  temples,  311. 
Topare  (PoUonarua),  ii.  107. 
Topa-Wewa,  ii.  106,  108. 
Topaz,  ii.  14. 
Tortoises,  i.  74-77,  105. 
Tortoise-shell,  i.  22. 
Totapella  Plains,  i.  191,  193. 
Tourmaline,  ii.  16. 
Transmigration,    i.    274 — of   Buddha 

as  a  hare,  297  note. 
Travellers'  tree,  i.  45. 
Tree  and  serpent  worship,  i.  412. 
Tree  of  Life  (palmyra),  ii.  159. 
Trincomalee,      ii.      140  —  additional 

fortification,   150. 
Tulip-tree,  i.  46. 
Turtles,  i.  74,  105. 
Turtles'  eggs,  ii.  172. 

Umbrella,  honorific,  i.  163  note,  296, 

298,  304,  .344,  378  ;  ii.  6. 
Umbrellas,  low  caste  dare  not  carry, 

ii.  82,  86. 
Uva,  i.  191  ;  ii.  30,  34,  428. 

Varied  vegetation  necessary,  ii.  293. 

Vavuniya-vilan-kulam  tank,  i.  353. 

Vaz,  Father  Joseph,  ii.  351. 

Veddahs,  rock,  ii.  90 — kindle  fire, 
93 — village  and  coast,  94  —  high 
caste,  94,  99 — archers,  96. 

Vendeloos  Bay,  ii.  95. 

Venomous  creatures,  i.  115. 

Vicarton  (Jorge,  i.  336. 

Vidyodaya  College,  i.  92-95. 

Vigita-pura,  i.  372,  373. 

Village  hospitals,  i.  9. 

Violets,  i.   192. 

Votive  ollerings  at  Kattaragama,  &o., 
ii.  223  note. 

Wakwella,  ii.  177. 
Walagani-bahu,  King,  i.  33(i,  382. 
Wanderoo  monkey,  i.  Htfl,  121. 
Wanna  Rajah  orchid,  i.  I  OS. 
Wannie,  the  dreary,  ii.  399,  40n. 


442 


IxNDEX, 


Wanny,  the,  i.  354  ;  ii.  216. 
AVansae,    Maha-,   ii.    108  —  Siiriya-, 

Solar  Dynasty,  ih. — Soma  Suriya, 

Luni-Solar  race,  119. 
Ward,  Sir  Henry,  i.  361  ;  ii.  49. 
Wata  Dage,  ii.  117,  118. 
Watch  huts,  ii.  128. 
Water  purified  by  seeds,  i.  125  ;  ii. 

105 — cutting  the,  i.  305 — deficient, 

359,  360 — must  boil  and  filter,  ii. 

104. 
Water-cress,  i.  184. 
Water-lilies,  i.  113. 
Water-spouts,  i.  55. 
Weaver-bird,  i.  275. 
Wedding  procession,  i.  11". 
Weight  in  gold,  i.  344;  ii.  119,  120. 
Welligama,  ii.  193. 
Wellington,    the   Duke   of,    at   Trin- 

comalee,  ii.  149. 
Wesleyan    Mission    commenced,    ii. 

378. 
Wheel  as  an  emblem,  ii.  378. 


White  cloth,  honour  of,  i.  260,  295, 

.303,  412;  ii.  6,  81,  102. 
Wijeyo  the  Conqueror,   i.  342,   343, 

371,  372  note — his  capital,  402. 
Wilderness  of  the  Peak,  ii.  284. 
Wind,  land,  i.  148. 
Witchcraft,  i.  425,  426. 
Wood,   ornamental,    for    cabinets,    i. 

79. 
Work  for  women,  ii.  362. 
AVorkers  wanted,  ii.  428,  429. 
AVorms,  gigantic,  i.  275  ;  ii.  133. 
AA^ytulian  heresy,  i.  396. 

Xavier,  St  Francis,  ii.  347. 

Yakkas,  ii.  98. 
Yellow  parroquet,  ii.  274. 
Yodi  Ela,  i.  363,  429. 
Yoga-stones,  i.  418;  ii.  118. 

Zebu,  i.  37. 
Zircon,  ii.  15. 


THE    EXD. 


PRTNTED   BY   WILLIAM    BLACKWOOD   AND   SOXS. 


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